Of Guns and Rackets
by FunkEater
Summary: "Hey Yayoi-chan! Did you know that when we were training to become sergeants, Syu-kun was just a 10-year-old elementary student?" "I'm aware.." "Great! Then you're gonna love this: Syu-kun is a leap year baby, technically making him only 3 1/2 years old and you disgustingly pedophilic!" If this thing with Fuji doesn't work out, you are never going to date younger guys again. FujiOC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis I only own "You". Or, well... the person I refer to as "You".**

* * *

Sometimes, you wish that the first time you met Fuji Syusuke had been the last.

Not to say that you weren't grateful because it was his contribution to your case that had eventually solved it but you could have seriously done without the complications that said contribution came with. The complications that _he _came with.

The meeting had occurred in a cemetery at Tokyo. You were off-duty and in great need of some sleep or at least coffee but you stayed firm and stood there, in front of the gravestone of Yamada Ryoichiro, a man you didn't know nor particularly cared about.

You stared intently, almost glaring, at the dirt in front of the sacred stone. The soil was looking pretty dry despite it only being Spring-you weren't actually sure what day it was due to being stuck at work for so long but you were sure it was Spring, around April maybe-and it was making you feel tired and dry yourself, not only because you lacked sleep but also because you haven't eaten yet and it was lunchtime.

Personally, you blamed Yamada-san's family. You had all the evidence you needed to prove that the suspect was anything but innocent. Well, all except the body itself. Apparently, the victim was considered missing until proven otherwise which led you to your current problem.

The previous night, you had tried to track down the victim using police dogs and they had led you to the very spot you were standing. You had been just about ready dig up the grave until the Yamada family came, apparently alerted of your intentions by the cemetery keeper.

Of course the family had been anything but okay with you digging up their newly deceased's grave and the barking dogs that smelled the body did nothing to convince them.

"_This is a cemetery!_" the family's matriarch had said. "_Of course the dog would smell dead bodies!_"

The family even threatened to sue you and the police force should you go forward with your supposedly unjustified intentions.

You heaved a sigh and looked to the side, wondering exactly how you were going to finish the case.

A click was heard from behind you, causing you to whip around, your hand subtly reaching for the gun in your hidden hostler. There, a few feet from you was a young man holding up a camera.

He pulled the camera from his face and regarded you with a smiling mouth and a pair of smiling eyes which you couldn't really see due to their, well, smiling.

"I'm sorry," the boy spoke. "Did I frighten you? I didn't mean to intrude upon your grief."

Your hand inched away from your gun, just as subtly as it approached. You frowned at the boy. You guessed he was a middle schooler, a high schooler at best but either way, wasn't the kid suppose to be in school right now?

"A little warning would have been preferred but you didn't frighten me too much," you replied with a small smile of your own, just to not come off as too unfriendly. "And don't worry, I don't know Yamada-san so you didn't really intrude on much."

"Ah, that's a relief," the boy said before he approached. He crouched down next to the grave, holding the camera like a gun that's ready to shoot at the first sign of anything suspicious. Well, in his case, anything interesting.

You became uncomfortable as a thought came to you: was _he _some who came to grieve Yamada-san?

"Um..." you began, rubbing your elbow. "Did you know Yamada-san?"

The boy lowered his camera and turned to you with that smile that never seemed to leave his face. "Not really, I'm just here for the view."

You cocked a brow, urging him to elaborate. You thought you'd entertain yourself with the kid. You were getting nowhere anyway.

The boy's smile widened before he turned back to his camera which he flipped over to scan the screen.

"This is one of the places in Tokyo that has great lighting at all times of the day. It's not so bright that everything captured looks saturated and plastic but not dark enough that the shutter speed has to suffer for it. It's just enough light to highlight everything that should be highlighted," he explained before handing you his camera.

"See?" he asked, pointing to the picture he took of you. You realized he got a profile view of your face. It was actually pretty good and somewhat calming. You could sort of understand what he was trying to say with the light being "just right".

"So, do you usually go here and take pictures of unsuspecting strangers? What if I'd really been mourning? You'll get scolded because of that, you know?" you asked as you returned the camera. The boy laughed.

"Actually, I'm here to take pictures of the grass and flowers that were beginning to bloom on Yamada-san's grave. I got a picture of them on my phone around a week ago and wanted to take another one with my camera," the boy explained before frowning at the grave in wonder. "I wonder what happened to them?"

Your eyes widened. Grass? Flowers?

You examined the grave before you and found nothing but dirt and, from what you knew, the cemetery keepers only cut the grass when it had actually grown a bit and even then they didn't totally remove it.

"Hey," you called the boy with renewed urgency in your voice. The boy seemed to have sensed it too as he regarded you almost curiously.

"Can you send me that picture? The one you took of Yamada-san's grave?"

You were sure that if the kid had actually preferred keeping his eyes open, he would've blinked. He complied nonetheless, albeit with the hesitancy of a kid who didn't know if he did something that could get him in trouble.

An almost predatory grin spread through your face when you scanned the cellphone photo. There it was, Yamada Ryoichiro's grave with newly sprouted grass and daisies. It was just what you needed.

You quickly pocketed your phone and regarded the boy with a wide grin.

"Thanks a lot, Kid! I'll make sure to treat you for this next time!" you told him before running off, not really bothering to look at the boy.

In retrospect, you're actually quite glad that you hadn't.

Because if you had actually taken the time to look, you might've learned earlier that his eyes were blue.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated~**

**-Iggy**


	2. Chapter 1: Stone School Signs

**Firstly, thanks for the review, Teddy!**

**And secondly, disclaimer: don't own POT and all that. I only own "You", the reader whom I will name in this chapter.**

* * *

The first time you went to Seigaku, you met the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with.

That was 15 years ago.

Six years after that, you left the school with every intention to pursue said man.

It was another six years after you left the school that you were forced to acknowledge that you will never have what you wanted.

And now, here you are, three years later, standing in front of the school and waiting to pick up your nephew.

... who had apparently left. The brat.

And it was the first time in a while that you'd gotten time off work too.

You sighed. You really didn't want to be one of the people who marked places as taboo because of certain happenings but you did have to admit that standing there made you feel awkward, like you didn't know where to place and what to do with yourself.

After a few seconds of uncomfortably shuffling around, you settled for putting most of your weight on one leg and crossing your arms.

You glared at the stone school sign defiantly. You could handle being here.

A few seconds passed before you sighed slightly. You feel even more stupid, defying a _rock_. You stared at the sign again with half-lidded eyes. You wondered if you should just go home.

"Nya! I'll go first, Fuji! There's a new show I want to catch!"

You stiffened on your spot, trying to be as inconspicuous as you could.

"Hm? What if I say you can't?" a breathier voice, probably that of the one the first kid called "Fuji", teased.

"EEHHHH?" the first kid with the squeaky voice yelled in disappointment. Breathy Voice Kid-"Kid" because you weren't sure whether the kid was a girl or boy-chuckled.

"I'm just joking, Eiji. Make sure to tell me about that show tomorrow," Breathy replied as he/she and Squeaky Voice Boy came to your peripheral vision.

Squeaky cheered and thanked Breathy before running off.

You trained your eyes to the sign, waiting for the sound of footsteps fading little by little.

It didn't come.

There was only silence which could possibly mean only two things: Breathy was still standing there or he/she was a ninja.

You thought it would've been pretty cool if it was the latter.

"Ah, excuse me."

You turned to the kid, he was a boy you discovered, and gave him the straight but slightly cautioned face that one would give to any stranger trying to talk to him/her.

He was a student in the school, no doubt. In his third year, according to the pin on his uniform's collar. He had brown hair that was ghosting over his shoulder and was a bit taller than you.

Which sucked.

It wasn't that you were _short_.

It just... sucked.

He gave you a smile with a matching set of smiling eyes.

What was-

"Ah!" you exclaimed, realization replacing the caution on your face. "You're Freaky Graveyard Flower Boy!"

The boy laughed heartily.

"'Freaky' is what you remembered about me?" he asked, still trying to recover from his laughter.

"Oh no, actually what really got me was the brown hair. You know we don't have a lot of that here in Japan," you replied, a bit snarky with your tone.

You blinked and mentally slapped yourself on the head. The kid wasn't a stranger. Well, he was, but he didn't really do anything to warrant such behavior from you.

Plus, you sort of owed him.

"Sorry... about that..." you scratched the back of your head sheepishly. The boy laughed.

"No, it's fine," he chuckled. "At least now I know why everyone was staring at it."

You laughed as well.

"I'm Fuji Syusuke. Please be kind to me," he introduced himself with a respectful bow.

"I'm Kougami Yayoi. Please be kind to me too," you replied nicely, now comfortable as you judged the boy as pretty much harmless.

"If you don't mind me asking, Kougami-san, do you have business here at Seigaku?" Freaky Graveyard Flower Boy, Fuji now, asked.

"Yeah, well, I did but the kid I was suppose to pick up left, apparently," you muttered, glaring at the front gates.

"Ah, I see," Fuji hummed, looking at the direction you were.

"So, your going home?" you asked the boy. Fuji nodded with a smile.

"I could give you a ride home," you suggested. The middle schooler looked at you with surprise and your eyes widened as you understood why.

"N-No! I'm not trying anything weird!" you denied, waving your hands frantically.

"I'm a police inspector, see?" you pulled out your badge in panic.

"I-It's just that I sort of owe you for the picture thing, it saved my case you know? Plus its getting dark soon and-" you said all that in one breath. "Well... yeah..."

The edges of Fuji's lips went up a bit higher as a slight shade of pink dusted his cheeks.

You didn't notice this, though, as you were still thinking up of ways to not make yourself look like a creep.

"Kougami-san," Fuji called, pulling you from your panicking. "If it's not too much trouble, may I take you up on that ride home?"

You blinked. Then, you grinned.

"Yeah! Let's go!" you said, walking to your black car. Fuji pulled his bag higher on his shoulder before following you to your car.

"So, you came out pretty late. Sports club?" you asked as the two of you slipped into your car.

"Yeah, tennis actually," Fuji supplied helpfully as he buckled up.

"Really?! I used to be in the Tennis club! Is Ryuuzaki-sensei still alive?"

The first time you went to Seigaku, you met the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with.

When you came to the school again 15 years later, you met Fuji Syusuke.

* * *

**Yeah, so I'm a fan of Psycho-Pass if anyone noticed. I liked all the characters but I think Shinya and Yayoi had the more interesting names so yeah.**

**Btw, any guesses on who the nephew is? I guess Eiji!**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated~**


	3. Chapter 2: The Simile of The Box

**I was in a bit of a hurry to post this so there might be a lot of errors. I'll edit it later on, maybe.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own POT and the like.**

* * *

"Fuji-senpai! I really like you, please accept this!"

The bowing girl had a nice nape, Fuji thought.

He mentally shook his head, trying to focus on the pink envelope she was handing him, but her nape looked nicer than her fingers so he just couldn't help focus on that.

Oh, right. Envelope.

"I'm sorry, Harada-san, I'm really flattered but I'm afraid I don't return your feelings," Fuji apologized as nicely as he could. These sort of things were never really easy for him, for more reasons than one.

The girl remained in the same position for a few seconds. Then, while bowing, she retracted her arms, bringing the confession letter to her chest. Her shoulders began to tremble, causing a frown to stretch across Fuji's face.

"Harada-san..." Fuji called, leaning forward to place a hand on her shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry to have bothered you, F-Fuji-senpai. I-I just...!" Harada sobbed as she began to straighten herself, rubbing her eyes in an effort to stop crying.

"You didn't bother me, Harada-san. I'm sorry that it isn't me but I'm certain that you'll find someone who will feel for you as much as you feel for them," Fuji reassured her. The girl sniffed, peering at Fuji with teary eyes.

"R-Really?"

"Of course," Fuji replied with a sincere smile. Harada blinked and gave him a surprisingly genuine smile.

"You're really kind, Fuji-senpai. Thank you very much. I hope you find some who will like you as much as you like them, as well," Harada replied as she worked to wipe away her tears.

When the girl came to him with the pink confession letter, Fuji found that, rather than shy—which was the personality she had been meeting him with for the past year—Harada was actually quite bold. He had actually seen it before when she was with her friends, whom she met with loud greetings, but it was the first time that he himself was faced with it. Quietly, he wondered if it was a trend among girls these days or if they really believed that the shy underclassman thing was a good tactic to getting the hearts of upperclassmen.

Nonetheless, he gave her a smile and his thanks. They bid each other farewell and Fuji headed off to the camera shop just a few blocks away.

* * *

Fuji Syusuke had never really been one to care much about honesty or authenticity. People lied and people hid things. He didn't mind because he lied and hid things as well. It wasn't that big of a deal. He didn't lie very much—he didn't usually feel the need to—but when he did, he lied for a reason. It wasn't always a good reason but it was his decision to lie for that reason so he stuck with it. Compared to lying, he hid things a lot more often although it was more because he enjoyed spending his time learning about others rather than educating them about him, and he thought that was just fine. He had long since accepted that he was a human that lied and hid things. Letting other humans lie and hide things, he thought, was common curtesy and it didn't bother him in the least.

He found them pretty boring, though, people who lied and hid things. There was too many of the type. They were like boxes, he thought. They're interesting because they're closed and is hiding something from view but once they've been opened, all a person really want to do is put them outside with the trash because it was no longer "that thing that might have collected something interesting" but "that thing that was collecting dust and insect eggs". He learned that those people, who lied and hid things, could be pretty much defined by what they were locking away. That while they seemed limitless with their depth of secrets, they were actually already standing in front of a line they made themselves.

And it is with that logic that Fuji deduced some time ago that he was pretty boring too. Because he lied and hid things too.

He preferred people like Eiji, whose feelings were all out in the open and even if he tried to hide them, his nature simply wouldn't let him and he'd just end up blabbering everything he wanted to say and once that's out of the way, he'll find something else to feel something about. He moved forward without minding limits, even if he did so with a lot of detours.

He even thought that Tezuka was a whole lot more interesting than he was, because he never tried to kept his goals and feelings secret simply because he was convinced that he didn't need to and that he should focus all his efforts on reached his aforementioned goals. His path, compared to Eiji, was straight and every step he took towards it was purposeful.

But, Fuji didn't mind being boring and different from his two friends. He was content with moving forward only to get good seats to the show.

* * *

He entered the camera shop and regarded the two familiar clerks behind the counter with a smile. Both returned the gesture to their regular.

"You're just in time, Fuji-kun! We just finished developing your pictures!" Sonohara-san, a twenty-something woman who had only been working in the shop for around a year, told the middle-schooler kindly as she walked towards the shop's developing room.

"I've gotta say, you took some pretty interesting pictures this time, Fuji," Masaoka-san, an old man who had been working in the shop ever since Fuji first stepped in it when he was a first year in Seigaku, complimented the boy with lopsided, wrinkly grin.

"Thank you, Masaoka-san," Fuji replied with a smile.

"Although, you should really stop hanging around graveyards. People will scold you if you take pictures of them while they're grieving, you know?"

"Eh? But weren't you the one who showed me that spot, Masaoka-san?" Fuji asked with a grin.

"Well, if I'd known you'd be such a menace to the people there, I'd have never shown you that spot! Tarou's been yappin' my ear off about you. Said you've been going there every week and that you should consider yourself lucky that you haven't bothered anyone that could get you into trouble," Masaoka groaned, closing his eyes with a frown as though reliving the scolding from his old graveyard keeper friend.

"But it's too good a spot to pass up. Interesting things happen there all the time," Fuji told the old man. Masaoka opened his eyes and regarded the middle schooler with a raised brow.

"Brat, did you even _hear_—"

"Excuse me!"

The conversation between the boy and the old man was cut short by the entry of a dark green haired woman, clad in a black blazer over a plain white shirt and slacks, who was familiar to Fuji and, apparently, Masaoka as well.

"Has the film I brought been developed?" you asked with the same voice of urgency that you had used to ask Fuji for that cellphone picture of Yamada Ryoichiro's grave.

"Unfortunately, I've got some bad news for you, Little Miss," Masaoka replied with a frown as he reached under the counter for the roll of film you had left to him. He pulled it out and placed it on the counter in front of you.

"That's an old Neopan 1600 film. Fujifilm hasn't manufactured any of that since a long time ago so we don't have the equipment to develop it anymore, unfortunately."

Frustration flooded your very being immediately, but it wasn't towards the old man. You were more frustrated by the fact that the film was a very important clue to your case but nobody in this place, not even your branch's pathetic excuse of a forensics team had the equipment to develop it. Masaoka, who had noted your frustration, decided to offer some advice.

"If you want, you could take that to the Fujifilm headquarters at Akasaka, they might have some means to develop it since it was their product before."

"Akasaka?" You frowned. The old man had said "might", meaning it wasn't sure that the place had the equipment, and even if it did, Akasaka was around an hour away from where you were. You wouldn't be able to catch the place open and the earliest your film could be developed would at least be the day after tomorrow. You didn't have that long.

You lips pulled into a tight frown and it was during these cases that you wished you had been friends with some judge so that it'd be easier to get a warrant and your way.

In the end, you heaved a sigh, releasing the tension from your shoulders. You were frustrated but the old man didn't deserve to be at the receiving end of it.

"Thank you for your work," you told the man as you took the roll of film in your hands and into your bag. You were upset and nobody was allowed to contradict that, but you still had your manners.

"Good luck, Little Miss," Masaoka offered, eyeing you worriedly. You gave him a pathetic excuse of a grin before taking off.

Fuji watched you curiously. You had taken absolutely no notice of him during the whole ordeal and by the way your eyes were trained on the film and Masaoka, he figured that you weren't ignoring him, rather, you simply didn't see him. You were rather single-minded, he noted.

"Thanks for waiting! Here are your photos, Fuji-kun!" Sonohara told him, happily handing him the small envelope containing his developed pictures.

"Thank you, Sonohara-san! See you later!" Fuji replied hurriedly, snatching the envelope from the woman's hands before taking off after you. Sonohara blinked at the rushing boy, whom she had never really seen that worked up before. She turned towards her superior.

"Masaoka-san, did something happen to Fuji-kun?" Masaoka, who had been watching Fuji knowingly ever since you left, let out a refreshed sigh as he leaned back on his chair.

"Nothing, just youth."

* * *

"Yayoi-san!"

You blinked in surprise. You knew that voice, you heard it not four days ago.

"Fuji?" you said in surprise as turned around, finding the boy running towards you. The middle schooler gave you happy smile before greeting you properly. You returned the gesture, although with a bit more hesitancy since you were still recovering from the surprise.

"Yayoi-san, you're looking to develop an old film?" You blinked, how had he known that? Fuji grinned.

"I was at the camera shop you just left. You didn't seem to see me, though." You blinked again, how did he know what you were thinking?

"You're a bit transparent, Yayoi-san. Most of your questions just shows up on your face, did you know that?" Okay, now this was getting ridiculous. You crossed your arms and regarded the chuckling middle schooler with a frown.

"Yes, well, I'm a bit busy right now so maybe we can talk next time?" Fuji grinned again. You didn't even _try _to hide the fatigue and dismay you were feeling.

"Actually, I was going to tell you that I might be able to help you." And just like that, any fatigue or dismay was gone and replaced by curiosity and wide-eyed hope.

"The president of the photography club at my school is a collector of obsolete films, but he doesn't have room to develop them at home so he leaves his developing equipment in the club room. If you want, we could develop your film there."

"Can you really do that?!" you asked loudly, earning the attention of random passerbys. Fuji gave you a wide smile and a nod.

"I've developed a few films by myself before so I think I'll be able to do it."

Fuji didn't even have time to prepare himself before a body slammed against him, the arms on said body coiling around his neck.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

And again, Fuji did not have time to prepare himself for when you suddenly untangled yourself from him. You gave him a staggeringly bright grin before pulling him away by the hand. Perhaps you'd be able to come home before four, you thought happily.

* * *

Kougami Yayoi is a very interesting person. Or at least, Fuji thinks so. Your personality was somewhere in between Eiji and Tezuka, although you were a nudge or two nearer to the former than the latter. Your thoughts and feelings were written all over your amber eyes and very being. Fuji learned that sometimes it was because, like Eiji, it was simply in your nature to be that way and sometimes, although this happens less often, it was because you were putting all your efforts into a goal like Tezuka. He would compare you to a box just to be consistent with his train of thought but you, like his two friends, transcended the simile.

You were also an adult which, in Fuji's opinion, gave you points because most adults were essentially boring and full of secrets.

* * *

"Thanks for your help, Fuji. It seems like you're always helping me with my work nowadays," you told your young friend as the two of you walked from the school and into the night. Fuji watched with a smile as you held the envelope holding the photos from the film in front of you, cooing to it like it was a newborn baby.

"It's not a problem, Yayoi-san," he told you not because he was being polite but because helping you, he found, was really more of a delight than a problem.

"But you're really good at things like this, not like those incompetent people at my office," you told him, huffing at the thought of the good-for-nothing forensics team. Fuji laughed at your venting.

"I'm serious! If you ever get tired of tennis, you should try out for the police force. I'll help you out," you offered.

"Haha, I'll keep that in mind." Fuji nodded to himself with a happy smile. He looked at the empty tennis courts as the both of you passed them by.

"It'll probably take a long time before I get tired of tennis, though. It's just a bit too interesting to let go." You followed his line of sight and smiled.

"Ah, well it's good to have something you really want to do in life while you're still young." You nodded to yourself as the both of you approached the parking lot.

"Well, I'll see you next time, Yayoi-san," Fuji told you with a wave.

"EH?! What are you talking about? I'm taking you home!" you told him, your face and voice the epitome of disbelief. Fuji probably would've blinked had his eyes not been perpetually closed.

"Eh? But Yayoi-san, you still have to get those to the police," he reminded you.

"I'll take them later!" Fuji's lips pulled into a small, worried frown.

"But—"

"Just get in already!" It was probably because of the exasperated tone that Fuji obeyed almost immediately.

"I'm sorry for the trouble, Yayoi-san..." Fuji apologized, still slightly surprised at the woman's exasperation.

"I'm the one who kept you here until late, right? So, don't worry about it," you told him gruffly as you revved the car alive.

"Honestly, what kind of adult do you think I am? Letting a middle schooler go home all by himself at this time of night... Do I really look that irresponsible? Really..."

Fuji chuckled nervously.

* * *

**Whew, finally got that out of the way. Now, onto the Author's Notes!**

**Firstly, I'd like to thank Teddy for his/her review. Don't worry about coming off as creepy, your review is pretty much what got this chapter out, haha. Having made one of the OCs you like is a heavy burden so I'll work hard to not disappoint you in the future. :D**

**Oh, and since Teddy brought it up, I'd just like to clarify that Yayoi is actually 27, making her 12 years older than Fuji. She was a first year middle schooler in Seigaku 15 years ago. She also went to high school there (I read from the POT wikia that Seigaku offers high school) and went to Police School right after. **

**BTW, I don't know where Seigaku is in Tokyo but I do know that Fujifilm is in Akasaka, Tokyo so let's just pretend that Seigaku isn't, ne?**

**Oh, and if any Psycho-Pass fans are reading this: yes, I did get Masaoka's name there. Unfortunately, he won't be the last since there are probably going to be more characters named after the Psycho-Pass people.**

**Okay, that's it! Thanks for reading and please leave a review~**


	4. Chapter 3: Dreams of Roppongi

**Hoorah! Second update of the day! I don't think I've ever done this before. Hihi. There'll be no Fuji in this chapter but I do hope you'll enjoy~ **

* * *

"Heeeeh, to think that you actually got it developed! It was such an old film too," a blonde, well-endowed woman whistled her admiration as she plopped down on her chair. She eyed her weary, dark-green haired friend questioningly. She was, however, ignored as you simply collapsed onto your own chair. You eyed the clock above your office door and read 3:30. You wondered if you were going to make it home before four or if you were going to catch your sister-in-law making breakfast again.

"So? Where'd you get it developed, Yayoi? I'm sure you couldn't develop it just anywhere since it's been discontinued and all. Did you do it in some shady shop in Roppongi? Wait! You went to Roppongi?! Why didn't you bring me with you? Mou, Yayoi's soooo mean! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Leaving me here when she's off having fun in Roppongi! Really!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!" you snapped, your grinning friend's pestering finally getting to you.

This was what you had to deal with _every_ night: Matsushita Shion, your partner and your supposed best friend who couldn't keep her mouth shut even if her life depended on it.

You slouched further into your chair with a groan. You took the iced coffee on your desk into your hands.

"You remember that kid I told you about? Fuji?" you asked as you brought your cold hands to soothe your eyes.

"Yeah, Freaky Flower Boy, right? The one who helped solve the Double Grave Case. What about him?" Shion asked with a cocked brow.

"I met him again when I was getting the film from that camera shop near Seigaku. I didn't notice him at first but he came up to me and told me he could help out. Turns out Seigaku's Photography club has the equipment to develop it."

"Photography club? I thought the kid's in the Tennis club with Ryo-chan?"

"He is, but apparently he hangs around the Photography Room a lot too," you informed your friend, bringing your hand away from your eyes to rub the back of your neck. Your hand wasn't cold anymore.

"The process took some time. It was 6:30 when we finished so I drove him home."

"Heeeh. So you brought him home before bringing the evidence here?" Shion asked as you finished your story.

"Ha? What kind of question is that? Of course, I brought him home before bringing the evidence here! It was already 6:30, you know?"

"I know, it's just surprising, is all." You frowned at this.

"What do you mean 'surprising'? He's a middle schooler! You don't let middle schoolers walk around Tokyo at night!"

"Yeah, but you aren't usually the type to prioritize things like that over your case. Normally, you pretty single-minded." You pouted at the statement.

"What's up with that?"

She didn't reply but you didn't mind her too much after that as you were too busy packing up your stuff. Apparently, she had turned her back on you and had propped her elbow on her desk and her head on her hand. You had just been placing the last of your things into your bag when she spoke again.

"Is that normal? You giving him a ride, I mean. It's the second time this week, right?"

"Don't think about it so much. He's a good kid, plus he helped me out," you said, sipping on your iced coffee so as to calm your fatigue-induced irritation. You approached her desk once you've finished the drink.

"Let's go. I'll drive you home."

* * *

"You should be careful, you know?" Here we go.

"Yeah, it sort of comes with the job description but I suppose you wouldn't know that," you joked as you parked in front of Shion's apartment. The woman beside didn't seem to have found it so funny, however, as she regarded you with a scowl.

"I'm talking about that Fuji kid." Now, you were confused.

"Fuji? Why?"

"Don't you listen to the news? And, you call yourself a police inspector," Shion scoffed, causing you to raise your brow. You didn't know what her problem was but you did know that she was getting on your nerves more than usual.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about those middle schoolers or high schoolers dating older people. You know what happened to them? They're out of a job, that's what! There's a reason for the word 'jailbait', you know?" You rolled your eyes. You should've figured she came to a conclusion like this.

"Okay, one: that didn't even come from the news, those are rumors. Two: Fuji and I aren't like that. He's a just a nice kid who happens to pop out during my time of need. Besides, he's working on a career in tennis. I'm sure he'd be mindful about things like that and I will be too so will you please just drop it?"

You looked Shion directly in the eye. Her face remained calm and straight but the way her painted red lips subtly tightened told you that she definitely did not want to just drop it. Whatever she wanted to say, however, did not come out. Instead,

"At least you're not calling it 'destiny', I suppose," she said, giving you a shit-eating grin. You let out a snort and tapped your friend's cheek in a pseudo-slap.

"Idiot."

"Yeah."

And then, her lips were on yours.

...

"THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, ASSHOLE?!"

If Shion's neighbors weren't woken up by the sound of you planting your fist on her head, they would most certainly wake up because of that.

"Ahn~But it's all your fault, Yayoi-chan! I haven't had sex in months because of your stupid, back-to-back cases and you didn't even take me to Roppongi with you! Stupid, stupid, stupid Yayoi!" Shion whined like the child she was.

"Over-sexed idiot..." you seethed, fist at the ready to punch Shion should the need arise or the desire to inflict pain just becomes too powerful.

"I already told you that I didn't go to Roppongi! And, stop yelling so loud, your neighbors will hear you, Idiot!"

"Oh~? That means you'll have sex with me, right? Heeyaaaay~! I'll get to see Yayoi's paper white panties agaiiiin~ "

"YOU...! GRRR, I'LL KILL YOU!"

You weren't going to get home before four, were you?

* * *

**Haha, that was fun. Well, this chapter was mostly posted because I didn't know what to make Yayoi and Fuji do next hence I'm open to suggestions! Also, I wanted to introduce Shion, Yayoi's perverted best friend since middle school~!**

**Oh, and if you didn't know, Ropponggi is Tokyo's nightlife district so yeah.**

**Thanks for reading~! Remember to leave a review or a suggestion~ **


	5. Chapter 4: Nobody Wants Yayoi

**YAY~! Fifth chapter! Haha, I don't think I've ever stuck with a story this far before, I wonder if that's a sign for me or something?**

**ANYWAY, disclaimer: You know how it goes now, ONTO THE STORY~!**

* * *

You hope your brother becomes impotent. You really, really do.

Okay, before anything starts, perhaps you should explain the situation? Yes, well, after almost a whole week of continuous working, your boss finally decided that the police department was going to go bankrupt with all the yen they have to pay you for overtime. With that in mind, the old man promptly put you on forced leave for the rest of the weekend. Needless to say, Shion rejoiced.

Now, being on leave isn't really that bad for you. You could stay at home and work on your own little case without work or Shion interrupting, hence you were quite calm when your boss announced the sentence. What you didn't take into account was your stupid brother.

You had just finished breakfast then and was sluggishly climbing the stairs, coffee mug in one hand and the weekend paper in the other. The next thing you knew, you were struggling to keep your coffee from spilling as you were being forcefully pulled to the front door. When you had angrily demanded what your stupid brother was doing, the answer you were given was:

"This the first time in a while that my stupid son and Nanako are out and Rinko's in, now get out so I can get lucky!"

After a fiesta banner-esque string of obscenities on your part, you were pushed out the front gate in a huge gray shirt that's barely hanging onto your shoulder, a black pair of cotton pants that you've half-pushed and half-folded mid-calf and your house slippers. Basically, you were dressed like someone who intended to stay at home and that was probably because, oh you don't know,_ that was_ _exactly what you had intended to do._

"OI, HENTAI OSSAN! AT LEAST LET ME CHANGE MY CLOTHES!" you yelled at the top of your lungs despite knowing that said perverted old man was just on the other side of the gate.

"IDIOOOOOT! AS IF I'D DO THAT! YOU'D JUST LOCK YOURSELF IN YOUR ROOM AND I'D NEVER GET TO DO IT WITH RINKO!" Apparently, the old man didn't either.

"YOU'RE DISTURBING THE NEIGHBORS, YOU IDIOT!" His wife, on the other hand, minded quite a bit if the sound of something hard hitting a skin-covered skull was any indication.

"Yayoi-chan, why don't you go out today? It's a nice day and your day off, too," Rinko asked softly. It was with the way that your sister-in-law spoke and didn't open the gate that you knew it was about something other than the couple getting some alone time. You let out a sigh as you rubbed the back of your neck.

"Fine, but can you please get me some proper shoes, Rinko-san? I'd really prefer not to get my house slippers dirty," you had asked tiredly. Rinko agreed and after some shuffling on their side, your sister-in-law opened the gate and handed you a pair of white, slightly high-heeled sandals with a smile. She also handed you your phone, house key, wallet and a wish to have fun. You thanked her and promptly tossed your slippers behind her and hoped that the slightly hard-soled slippers would hit your stupid brother. The yelp from behind Rinko told you that Kami-sama heard your prayer.

* * *

It was after about 30 minutes of aimless walking that you finally admitted that you needed to find a new hobby and that was how you ended up lost in a bookstore. Well, not exactly "lost" per se. You knew how to get in and out and you also knew where the cashier was but besides that, you didn't know where anything else was located. You asked for a book on hobbies from the employee who was texting away beside the cashier but all you got was an all too convincing "I'm busy." You eyed the cashier in hopes that she would help you but all she did was blow a pink bubble and let it pop.

This was all your brother's fault, and you'd bet a month's worth of coffee that Shion had something to do with it to. Get lucky, your ass. He was just trying to get you to stop working on your case. You glared at the books in front of you. Honestly, he'd essentially abandoned you for most of your younger life so he really shouldn't try to do the protective older brother thing _now_, when you were _27 years old._

Again, you hope your brother becomes impotent. He and that useless Bookstore Boy.

"Saa, I wonder what those books did to make you glare at them like that?"

You blinked and turned around.

"Fuji? What are you doing here?" How long has it been since you've seen him? Like almost a month already? So, you suppose your surprise was warranted, plus the fact that you only ever really see him at Seigaku and the area around it.

"Maa, I actually go to places other than school too, you know?" he teased with a wide smile.

You blinked as blood began to fill your cheeks. He had seen right through you.

"I-I know that!" you huffed and turned away from him with crossed arms. Fuji just grinned.

"How about you, Yayoi-san? What are you doing here?"

With an agonized groan, you explained the situation to Fuji. The brat actually had the nerve to laugh at your predicament.

"Well then, why don't you go out with a friend today, Yayoi-san? I'm sure it can't be worse than glaring at books all day," Fuji suggested.

"Well, the person I'd usually go out with on days like this went off to Roppongi to let out some-uh..." You cut yourself off. You snuck a look at Fuji who remained smiling, even with the mention of Tokyo's famous red light district. Was it really okay to talk about things like that with a middle schooler?

"Ahh! You're essentially not a kid anymore so just don't get worked up about stuff like that, okay?" you groaned at the boy. Your hand instinctively went to rub the back of your neck.

"Hm? But you're the one getting worked up, Yayoi-san," Fuji replied, looking all-too-innocent. You regarded him with a glare. The boy laughed and raised his hands in surrender.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could come with me, Yayoi-san." You blinked.

"Huh? Why? Where are you going? Hey, I know I said you're essentially not a kid anymore but if you're going to Roppongi, then you can just-" Fuji cut off your worried nagging with a breezy laugh.

"That's not it, Yayoi-san. I'm actually out to look for some tennis supplies right now, but the place I usually go to has been closed for a while. Since you know a lot about tennis, I was wondering if you could help me out."

"I haven't played in years so the stuff I know might be outdated but I do know a reliable place," you offered. Fuji smiled brightly.

"Really? May I know where it is?"

"It's in... well..." You turned away from the boy uncomfortably.

"Hm?"

"Roppongi..."

You were getting laughed at a lot lately, and it really disturbed you that most of it came from a teenaged boy.

* * *

"A mall?" you asked the smiling boy beside you uncertainly.

"There are all kinds of interesting stuff in this mall. If you're looking for a new hobby, then I'm sure we'll be able to find you one here." It was a bit frightening how a kid like him could make an argument sound so... well, sound.

When the both of you had left the bookstore, but not without you shooting that Bookstore Boy a dirty look, you had suggested that the both of you go to Roppongi while the day was still young because the place was dangerous and your brother had locked you out of the house before letting you get your car. Fuji denied your suggestion, however, stating that finding a new hobby was your original intention and that it should be prioritized over his little favor. You agreed after tiring yourself out with almost half an hour of debate.

After a quick lunch, the both of you headed off to the department store to look at the assortment of items it possessed.

"Maa, if you're going to take up a new hobby, then perhaps it should be something connected to one of your current hobbies. What are your hobbies right now, Yayoi-san?" You hummed in thought. You supposed that was pretty reasonable.

"My hobbies right now? Well-"

"Ah! Look at that!"

"Ooooh! I used to watch that when I was a kid!"

And that was how you ended up in a big, blue Doraemon costume. You gritted your teeth to contain yourself from bashing Fuji's head in.

"Ahhh, it really looks good on you, Yayoi-san!" the boy praised as he stuffed something in his back pocket.

"Fuji, I really don't think-"

"Ah, Yayoi-san! Try wearing that one!"

* * *

Often times, Shion liked to say (complain) that you were too single-minded. With the rate you were going, however, you felt inclined to disagree with that opinion.

"Maa, you really look good in that, Yayoi-san! I suggest you wear that to work next time!" Fuji praised happily.

"YOU IDIOT! STOP SCREWING AROUND!" you yelled as you ripped off the costume's headpiece.

Honestly! How could that brat even think that this was acceptable in any way?! Dressing you up in the costume of the police mascot when you were distracted. It seems like you can't let your guard down with this guy.

"So it's no good, huh? Even though it looked nice..."

"OF COURSE IT'S NO GOOD! WHO THE HELL WOULD WEAR SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO WORK?!"

You breathed in and out in an effort to calm yourself down. You were more mature than this. Fuji was just playing with you.

"Oh! Yayoi-san! You should try that one! I bet you'd look good in it too!"

"ENOUGH!" you snapped. You rubbed your face in your hand and sighed.

"Fuji, I'm not going to take up cosplay as my new hobby! Besides, didn't you say something about my current hobbies?" you asked the boy in exasperation.

"Oh, that's right! What are your hobbies again, Yayoi-san?" Fuji asked patiently.

"Well, I... like solving mysteries, I guess." Fuji laughed.

"You're really a workaholic, Yayoi-san. I'm guessed that's why your friends and family are worried for you."

"Why don't you try a hobby that isn't related to work?" You pouted at the suggestion. In all honesty, you thought that doing anything that isn't related to your work and basic survival is a complete waste of time, but you supposed that what Fuji said did make some sense. You agreed to his suggestion and started thinking of non-work-related hobbies that you partook in.

...

"Maybe we should just look around and see if there's anything that you like, okay Yayoi-san?"

"Yeah..."

And, it only took him 15 minutes of weird faces from you to get to that conclusion.

* * *

"Knitting?" Fuji asked, eyeing the pink yarn ball and the large pair of needles in your hands.

"It was really popular among my classmates when I was in middle school but I never really had the time for it because of my extra-curricular activities. I heard it was pretty therapeutic, though, so I thought I'd give it a shot," you explained. Fuji hummed in understanding.

"Well, if it's alright, I'd like to try too," he said. You gave him a grin and a nod.

"Excuse me," you called, approaching the lady in the booth from where you got the knitting materials.

"Can you teach us to use these things. We don't really have much of a clue, you see..."

"Oh, of course!" the lady said brightly. She provided Fuji with a blue yarn ball and a pair of knitting needles before proceeding to teach the both of you how to use them. After a few minutes of explanation you and Fuji nodded and got to work on your knitted pot holders.

"So, how long have you and your girlfriend been together? For a while, right? Since you're already taking up couple hobbies like this," the lady asked Fuji with a teasing grin. The tennis tensai laughed nervously as he continued to knit.

"Ah, no. We're not actually together, we're-"

"AGH! What's with this?! I don't get it!" you yelled in frustration, trying to shake off yarn that was tangled between your fingers. Fuji placed his work down.

"Yayoi-san, calm down," Fuji said with a smile. He took your hands into his own and began untangling the string from your fingers. When he brushed the palm of your hand, he let out a something that sort of sounded like confusion to you.

"What's wrong with you?" you asked a bit snappily as you were still recovering from your earlier irritation.

"Ah, nothing it's just... your hands are a bit rough, aren't they?" he asked, examining your hands that he had almost completely freed from the bonds of the yarn.

"Huh?"

"I just thought that they looked rather soft and pretty before so I'm a bit surprised to find this out," the tensai explained. You let out a snort.

"Sorry to disappoint. Anyway, won't it be worrisome if a police inspector had soft hands?" you asked with a smile and a raised brow.

"I suppose it would, huh?" Fuji agreed with a laugh. In a few short seconds, your hands were completely free and, although it was pretty much established that you didn't really have the knack for knitting, you demanded that Fuji taught you how to knit as well as he did. When asked, you maintained that it wasn't because your pride was hurt that the teenaged boy was a hell of a lot better at knitting than you were.

Fuji didn't mind, though. Truth to be told, he found your focus and determination to be rather cute. He didn't say that, though. He was sure you wouldn't have heard him anyway, at the rate you were going. He gave you, who had finally figured it out and was knitting like nobody's business, a soft smile before returning to his work.

The sales lady gave you two a smile.

"Ahhh, young love~"

* * *

The sun was already going down when the two of you came out of the mall. It had taken the both of you almost half a day to finish your pot holders and although you two came out with proudly knitted pot holders, you were still without a new hobby. Apparently, you were determined to finish the knitting project you had started but ultimately decided that knitting was not for you. Thankfully, the sales lady didn't mind that you didn't buy anything and was even kind enough to give you and Fuji your knitted pot holders. She had given Fuji a wink when she handed him the pot holders, making you blink. Well, you supposed you shouldn't really be surprised. He did look like that type that would be popular with women.

"Sorry Fuji, we can't go to Roppongi now. It's too dangerous there at this time," you told the boy with a frown.

"It's fine, Yayoi-san. I had a fun time, anyway, so I don't mind," Fuji told you happily. Your frown went deeper. Just when you thought you could do something for him in return for helping you out so much.

"Ahhh, I'm really sorry for wasting your day away, Fuji!" you apologized, scratching the back of your head vigorously.

"In the end, we weren't able to find a hobby for me too."

"Yayoi-san, about that..." You blinked when Fuji raised the paper bag he was holding to your face. He had excused himself to buy it earlier but you weren't really sure what it was. Curious, you took the bag and looked inside.

"A... cactus?" you asked, looking into the bag with a raised brow. Enclosed in the paper bag was a little potted cactus and a cute little watering can.

"The hell am I suppose to do with this?" you asked, looking up at Fuji with a confused frown. The middle schooler only gave you a smile.

"Well, since we weren't able to find you a hobby and you said earlier that you'd like to try something therapeutic, I thought you might like to try gardening. I own a couple of cacti in my home, as well. They're not as high maintenance as pets, nor do they require much effort like knitting, so you'll still be able to work properly. Taking care of them everyday is pretty therapeutic, though, and when I don't have anything to do, I normally look for ways to make them healthier," the boy explained before letting out a slightly nervous laugh.

"I don't know if you'd like gardening as much as I do but you should try it out anyway. If you don't like it, you could always give it back to me."

You stared at the kid with wide, slightly teary eyes.

"Y-Yayoi-san? Are you-ah..."

You rubbed your eyes vigorously. You can't believe you were so moved by something like a spiky plant. When you were sure that you weren't going to tear up anymore, you looked up at Fuji with a determination burning in your eyes. He looked at you uncertainly.

"Fuji, give me your phone!"

"H-Huh? Um..." You snatched his beige-colored phone from his hand the moment it came into view and replaced it with your own black phone. You began typing on his phone with all your might.

"Y-Yayoi-san, what-"

"Put your number there, I'll put my number here too! I'll text you on my next day off and take you to that place in Roppongi, for sure!" you barked the order at him as you saved your number in his phone. The boy obeyed, albeit a bit nervously.

You gave him back his phone and you took back yours.

"The district tournament's coming up soon, right? I'll make sure to take you before then," you told him, nodding to yourself.

"You don't really have to, I'm sure-"

"Don't buy your supplies anywhere else for the time being, alright? It's my thanks for everything you've done for me until now so don't be shy or anything, got it?"

Fuji stared at you, his mouth slightly agape. He opened his mouth, as if to say something before shaking his head. He gave you a wide smile and a nod of his own.

"I'll be looking forward to it, Yayoi-san." You flashed him a toothy grin.

"It's getting late, let's go home!"

* * *

**Well, that was fun to write. That PairPuri episode on the Fuji brothers gave me lots of inspiration~ Hope I didn't make Fuji too OOC, though. Haha. **

**So now, it's pretty much obvious who Yayoi's related to, right? Now, the question is why she's living with said relatives~**

**Oh, and it was sort of implied that she looks pretty young for a 27-year-old but it's not really because she's really pretty, rather she's short and has a small chest, plus she didn't exactly look very professional so she was easily mistaken to be around Fuji's age.**

**BTW, the Police Mascot Costume that Fuji forced Yayoi into is the one at Psycho-Pass (wonder if it's obvious that I love that show?). Here's a link to the picture, Yayoi wore the girl costume on the left:**

**25 . media . tumblr c54ae8abf418da164b4d70ba62691ad0 / tumblr_mknvolam9G1s55juqo1_400 . jpg**

**Take off the spaces and stuff.**

**Thanks for reading, please review~ 3**


	6. Chapter 5: Them

**More on Yayoi's end than Fuji's but anyway, onto the story~!**

* * *

"Hey Chief, can I take tomorrow off?"

Hiraoka Masanobu's eyes went wide at the strange request. Now, requests for leaves wasn't all that uncommon in the Tokyo Police Station—Shion practically asked for them on a daily basis—but in the six years that you've been working under the Senior Superintendent, not once has he heard you ask for a day off with such a casual tone. Normally, when you required a day off, you would ask for it with an extremely annoyed voice and an exasperated apology because you really didn't want to do whatever your were excusing yourself for. Sometimes, you'd ask with an extremely urgent tone that's usually reserved for when someone's dying and, while Shion used that tone to get out of things everyday, you only used it when the situation was equally urgent so Hiraoka never doubts you when you do. Sometimes, he wouldn't even hear from you at all because you'd be in a hospital for one reason or the other. Now, any of those days were rare in itself, since you're such a workaholic, so he'd normally just let you off, even if he had to take Shion's whining about how unfair it all was after.

This time, however, there was no annoyance, no urgency and no medical report. Needless to say, Hiraoka was rather curious.

"I put you on forced leave once and now you're willingly asking for leaves? You've been hanging out with Matsushita too much." The 40-something man shook his head with a sigh, but signed the request anyway since it was you. You opened your mouth to speak, only to have yourself cut off by Shion's indignant gasp.

"Hey! I actually came into this place _with _Yayoi and we've been together since way before that! If she's starting to develop some bad habits just now, then you can't blame them on _me_!"

"Assistant Inspector doth protest too much, I think," Kagari Daisuke, a newly promoted Senior Police Officer, quipped in from his lounged position on a chair.

"It's 'methinks' not 'I think'. If you're gonna do sarcastic quotations then at least do it right, Idiot," Shion snarled in a fashion that she would not dare show a stranger, or at least someone she was trying to seduce—which is, if you were to be asked, almost anything with a pulse.

"Methinks Assistant Inspector is a hag."

Except, maybe Kagari.

"You little...!"

"Now, now you two," Fujioka Akane, a Police Sergeant, tried to calm the situation. You and Hiraoka merely regarded the situation with a stare. You turned back to your superior as though nothing had happened.

"It's not that I'm taking advantage, I just need to do something important tomorrow," you explained.

"Don't worry so much, Chief. It's just the first time Yayoi's done something like this. Cut her some slack," Shion said considerately, her arm still around the struggling Kagari's neck.

"If you don't mind me asking, what _are_ you going to do tomorrow, Kougami-keibu**[1]**?" Akane asked politely. You opened your mouth to answer but was once again cut off, this time by Hiraoka.

"I'm assuming it's a date. Since it's not life-threatening and she's not annoyed by it." You glared at the smiling old man. The old man's hobby of instigation really sucked.

"You..."

"Eh?! Seriously?!" Shion cried.

"Whoa! Just one day off and you got a date? Nice, Yayoi-senpai!" Kagari praised, giving you a thumbs up.

"You're officially better than Assistant Inspector who couldn't even get a date after a day in _Roppongi_, of all places."

The boy turned a nice shade of blue after that comment, curtesy of Shion, of course.

"It's not _that_—!"

"Date?! Is it someone we know?" Akane asked, excitedly. The young woman knew that, with the way that her superior only regularly interacted with co-workers and her family, there was an extremely high possibility that the other party was someone who worked in the station too.

"Hey, listen—!"

"Ch-Chief! Did... anyone else... ask for a leave... tomorrow...?!" You were seriously beginning to think that people had a thing for cutting you off today. Even Kagari, who was still trying (failing) to escape from Shion's headlock, was trying to join the teasing!

"Hmm? Now that you mention it, I think I do remember somebody~" You glared at the space in front of you. No way were you going to look at the old man who was probably sporting an all-too-innocent smile. The urge to hit him was already too great. Calm down, Yayoi. Calm down.

"Hohoho~ Have you done something dirty with them yet?" Shion asked with a lecherous grin. Calm down, Yayoi. Calm down.

"Oh! Did you do something dirt in the _office_?!" Aaaand, you snapped.

"WILL YOU BASTARDS JUST LISTEN TO ME FOR A FREAKIN' SECOND?!"

Everyone in the room stopped their speculating and turned to you in surprise. You took huge breaths to calm yourself down before you started your explanation.

"I'm not going on a date with _anyone_. I just need to go somewhere with someone whose only free on weekends!"

Akane began to think. Who was someone you hung out with that is only free on weekends? It wasn't any of them because no police officer has a scheduled day off on a weekend**[2]**. It wasn't your sister-in-law because, from what Akane knew, she didn't run on a fixed schedule. If it was your brother, then you would've approached Hiraoka with a possibly murderous tone. Akane blinked.

"Are you going with Ryoma-kun?"

"Heeeeh?! No way! That's too boring!" Kagari whined.

Then, he blinked and looked down, noticing that Shion's headlock wasn't choking him anymore.

"Ahhh, students are only free on weekends." Hiraoka nodded at the logic. You heaved a tired sigh.

"Just stop bothering me already, okay?" you groaned. They weren't right, but there was no way in hell that you were going to tell them the truth. You were never going to hear the end of it if they knew. Besides, it wasn't any of their business, anyway.

Kagari pouted at the outcome. He huffed when he realized that the teasing wasn't going to go on anymore.

"But really, Senpai, you should start dating again. It's already been three years since—UWAH!" the young man was promptly pushed, face-first, to the floor. His pusher stretched her back with an exaggerated moan.

"Ahhh! Yayoi, I'm hungry! Let's go eat lunch!" Shion announced loudly as she stood from her seat. She made sure to step on Kagari, who was still failing to recover from his fall, before leading a slightly confused you out of the office. Kagari glared after you two as he sat up. Realizing the futility of it all, his face relaxed and he settled on letting his frustrations out on the skin of his neck which he began to rub. Then, he blinked.

"Hey Chief, Akane-senpai," the young man called, earning the attention of the other two occupants of the room.

"Hm? What is it?" Hiraoka answered.

"Are you okay, Kagari-kun?" Akane asked, watching her junior with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... does Assistant Inspector not get along with Yayoi-senpai's nephew?" Akane blinked at the strange question.

"No way! Matsushita-keibuho**[3]** loves Ryoma-kun!" Hiraoka nods at Akane's statement.

"She does. She's always offering to make him a man whenever they see each other," the old man added with a chuckle.

"What made you think that, Kagari-kun?" Akane asked the young man curiously. Instead of answering, Kagari simply stared at the doorway that his two superiors exited from. Finally, he sighed and stood up.

"Nothing. Probably just my imagination."

* * *

"Sorry I can't come tomorrow, Eiji," Fuji apologized to his home phone's receiver.

"_Boo boo! Oishi and I are going to have sooo much fun and you won't be there, nya!_" Fuji laughed at his friend's childishness.

"Yes, yes. I'm sure you will."

"_Hmmm! You're making fun of me, aren't you?!_"

"I'm not, Eiji. I need to go now, I'm still eating dinner," Fuji told his friend patiently.

"_Oh yeah! See you at school, Fujiko-chan~!_"

"See you at school," Fuji confirmed before hanging up. He returned to the dining area where his mother and sister were eating dinner.

"You're not going with Eiji-kun tomorrow, Syusuke?" his mother Yoshiko asked when her son settled back to his seat at the dinner table.

"Un, I'm going with another friend tomorrow."

"Ho? I wonder if its the same friend you went out with last Saturday? The one who gave you that cute knitted pot holder."

"Saa, I wonder too." Fuji regarded his grinning sister with a smile. She had automatically assumed that the pot holder was given to him when he came home with it the previous weekend. Fuji didn't bother correcting her.

"Where did you meet this friend of yours, Syusuke? Do they study in Seigaku too?" Yoshiko asked.

"I met them at that nice spot I told you about before. And, they're not studying in Seigaku, but they're related to someone who does."

"'Them'? How careful of you, Syusuke~" Yumiko teased.

"Of course," Fuji replied with a grin. His sister knew something was up and he knew that she was looking for any hole that she could worm herself into to get more information. Fuji wasn't going letting his guard down, though.

"Yumiko, stop teasing your brother," Yoshiko chided her daughter before turning to her son with concern.

"Anyway, Syusuke, you should stop going to that graveyard. It's not a dangerous place but it's not exactly a place to take pictures."

"Maa, you don't have to worry, Okaa-san. Besides, I don't have much time to go there anymore nowadays," Fuji reassured his mother.

"Of course he doesn't have much time anymore, he has _them _to hang out with, after all~"

"Yumiko," Yoshiko called her daughters name as a warning. Fuji was chuckling, though. He didn't mind his sister's little attempts at teasing.

"Maa maa, don't be so uptight, Okaa-san! Syusuke and I are just playing~" Yumiko reassured her mother. Yoshiko could only sigh at her daughter's antics before rising to tend to the dirty dishes.

"So, Syusuke, you want me to find out how your little... _outing _will go?" Yumiko asked her brother with a grin.

"No, it's alright, Nee-san. You don't have to," Fuji told his sister with a patient smile as he too rose from his seat.

"Oh? You're confident, are you?"

"No, I just think it would be better to find that out for myself." Fuji gave his sister an nice little you're-not-going-to-know-tonight smile before slipping into the kitchen to help his mother.

* * *

**Whew! Hope I characterized the canon characters right. Anyway! Onto the End Notes:**

**1. Okay, so "keibu", if I'm correct, means "Inspector" in Japanese.**

**2. I'm not really sure if no Policeman has scheduled day offs on weekends but for the sake of the story, they don't.**

**3. "Keibuho" is "Assistant Inspector".**

**I got the information on the Police Ranks from an article in Wikipedia. You guys could check it out if you want to. If your confused about something, you could ask me.**

** Nance-chan: The summary worked?! YES! Thanks for that tidbit, Nance-chan! I was wondering if it was effective or not.**

**You're last guess is right, Fuji is either 14 or 15 since he's in third year middle school, but in this story he's fifteen (so it's slightly less weird that he'll eventually be romantically involved with a 27-year old (because one year makes so much difference)). I don't actually know who Nanako's related to (whether she's from Nanjirou side or Rinko's side) but I'm not going to dwell on it too much. She's not Yayoi's daughter if that's what your thinking ^_^**

**Thank you thank you for your review~ One gay heart for youuuu: (less than 3)**

** Teddy/Tokyo/Meii-tan: Thank youuuu for your reviewwwww~ And thanks for that comment about Yayoi, I was sort of wondering how she was turning out. Mou, so much pressure! But I'll do my best to live up to your expectation :D**

**I'm still working the Roppongi scene in my head. It'll probably come out in the next chapter. To tell you the truth, this chapter's just some form of procrastination for me. Hope you still like it though, haha.**

**So, right now I know where Fuji and Yayoi are going to end up but I'm not exactly sure how they're going to get there so if you guys have some suggestions or you have events that you want them to do together, please tell me! Thinking up dates are hard if you don't have a love life of your own so I'm game for a lot of stuff.**

**Thanks for reading~!**

**-Iggy**


	7. Chapter 6: Sleepy Saturday

**Sorry for the slightly late update, I just came from the family's vacation in Cebu so yeah.**

**AND HERE WE HAVE, YAYOI AND FUJI'S DATE IN ROPPONGI (lol, how indecent~) Didn't edit this chapter very much but maybe I will next time.**

* * *

"What a nice morning!" is what Meino Nanako thought delightedly as she entered the Echizen House's kitchen. As was common for a Saturday morning, neither of the household's men were awake yet, while both of its women, besides Nanako herself, were at work. However, with the kitchen clock reading 9:42, Nanako knew that it wasn't going to stay that way for long, at least for the men's part. Soon, her cousin would awake groggily from his slumber, to be followed shortly by his father.

And that is why, when Echizen Ryoma found her that morning, she was flipping pancakes by the stove, humming to the sound of some catchy show tune.

"Good morning, Ryoma-san! Breakfast will be ready soon," she told him cheerily. Ryoma simply hummed in acknowledgement before settling down on the dining table.

All in all, it was a rather peaceful morning in the Echizen House.

Then, **BAM!** went the front door, pulling the cousins from their moment of tranquility.

"I'm home!" Ryoma and Nanako heard your almost frantic announcement, which was followed by a series of equally frantic shuffling and mutters of "Shit! Shit! I'm late!" They saw you race past the kitchen doorway and up the stairs where you proceeded to make more noise.

"WHAT THE _FUCK_ ARE YOU DOING?!" they heard Ryoma's father shout.

"SOMETHING! WHICH IS MORE THAN WHAT _YOU_ EVER DO!" you yelled back with equal fervor.

"IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT, GO LIVE IN AN APARTMENT!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO—!"

After a rather lengthy exchange of colorful feelings, you went back downstairs with a moist face and a towel around your neck. The cousins guessed that your brother had fallen back to sleep. Muttering under your breath, you entered the kitchen. Nanako greeted you with a bright smile, being rather used to the screaming matches between you and your brother.

"Good morning, Yayoi-san! You don't have work today?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I'm off for today," you informed the college student.

"Ah, I see. Should I make breakfast for you then? I'm making pancakes," Nanako offered as she slipped the aforementioned breakfast item onto Ryoma's plate. The 12-year-old tennis prodigy scowled at the food.

"No, it's alright. I have to go now, anyway," you told her.

"Eh? So soon? But you just came back from work! You haven't even changed clothes yet!"

"I'll be fine," you insisted as you took your nephew's fork and used it to take a bite out of his untouched meal.

"Ryoma, eat your food," you told the boy in a calm tone.

"But it's western..." Ryoma whined, slouching into his chair with a pout. You responded by taking another piece of the pancake with the fork and thrusting it towards your nephew's mouth.

"Eat."

Ryoma frowned miserably at the offending piece of food, and then at you. You simply stared in response. With a suffering sigh, Ryoma gave in to your order, munching on the food with a scowl on his face. You nodded, content with the outcome.

"Nanako, don't make lunch for me, I'll just eat outside. I'll be off now!"

"Have a safe trip!" Nanako called after you. The cousins listened as your car came to life before it sped off to God-knows-where. Nanako frowned.

"Mou, I wonder if Yayoi-san gets to sleep at all? She just came back from work and she's already off," she wondered worriedly.

Ryoma simply shrugged in reply before resuming the consumption of his western-styled breakfast.

* * *

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm sorry I'm late!" you cried as you pulled up in front of the bookstore with the useless employees. In front of it was Fuji, who was standing in wait, as was agreed upon. You grimaced a bit as it was also agreed upon that you would come pick him up at 9:30, and it was already 10.

Fuji's response was to put his camera down—you guessed he was taking pictures to amuse himself while he was waiting—and greet you with a smile and wave. He approached your car and slipped into the passenger seat.

"I'm really sorry I'm late. Something happened at work so I got out a bit too late," you explained as you drove off.

"Please don't worry about it, Yayoi-san. I wasn't really waiting that long. Besides, I should be thanking you for taking me there at all," Fuji replied politely. You frowned.

"Hey, I told you already, it's payback for your help so don't worry about it, alright?"

"Maa, I guess I'm not going to win this argument anyway, huh?" he asked with a lopsided smile. You gave him a wide grin.

"Now way in hell."

Fuji accepted defeat with a friendly laugh and a nod. Your grin went wider.

"How did you find the place, Yayoi-san?" he asked when you've both settled down.

"I came upon it when I was undergoing my rebellious phase in middle school," you explained casually. Then, you froze.

"Y-You don't really look like the type, but when that time comes for you, don't go to shady places like Roppongi, you'll give your parents too much of a hard time. I know they'll seem like they're ruining your life but they're really just concerned," you tittered nervously in an attempt to sound like a responsible adult.

"I'll take note of that," Fuji replied with a smile.

"Does Echizen get his supplies from there too?"

"No way!" you exclaimed.

"What kind of adult do you think I am?! Letting a middle schooler go to Roppongi... really!" you complained in disbelief, glaring at the road in front of you. Fuji turned to the window and away from you to hide the slight twitching at the corners of his mouth.

He didn't remind you that he was just a middle schooler, too.

* * *

Fuji thought it was a complete and utter waste that you made him leave his camera in the car. Roppongi was not the safest of places, but it was quite beautiful in the morning, he learned.

It was already past ten, but the shops were just beginning to open. People—who most probably came from less than decent places—were just coming out from establishments with their heads held in their hands. The sun was shining through the spring fog despite the nearing noon, giving an almost ephemeral glow to the area.

It was Japan's famous red light district at night but at the morning, it was as calm and slow-winding as suburban Chiba, and Fuji found the idea to be rather pretty.

"Fuji, stop dawdling over there!" you called from the spot you stopped a few feet in front of your companion.

"It's really a waste to leave the camera in the car, Yayoi-san. This place is really beautiful!" Fuji told you as he hurried to your side. You frowned at this.

"Hey you, don't go thinking that this place is the same at that graveyard you go to. Roppongi's a hundred times more dangerous than that place. You take a picture of someone you're not suppose to, and a scolding's the least of your worries." You were talking to him with a voice full of concern and that's probably why you just got pissed off when you looked at him and found him smiling widely at you.

"H-Hey! I'm serious! _Never _go here by yourself! And, I'm not just saying this because you're a kid or anything, _nobody _should go to Roppongi alone, unless they're really looking for some trouble! If you want to go here, you have to tell me!" Fuji's smile was already shaking in his efforts to suppress his laughter.

"Y-YOU—I'M REALLY SERIOUS RIGHT NOW!" The middle schooler had burst out laughing at that point.

"STOP LAUGHING!" you demanded in embarrassment. Fuji held his hand up in apology and brought the other, which had been clutching his stomach, to wipe his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, Yayoi-san," he apologized between giggles.

"It's just... it really makes me happy that Yayoi-san cares for me so much." Red promptly filled your cheeks.

"WH-WHO CARES ABOUT YOU?! IDIOT!"

"Yayoi-san, apparently~"

"I-I... I TOLD YOU ALREADY! I'M ONLY DOING THIS TO PAY YOU BACK!"

"Heeeh, is that so?"

"IT. IS."

"I see, I see. So it is." Fuji nodded in agreement, but the grin on his face told you that he was doing anything but. You gave him a scowl before marching straight into a rundown-looking establishment.

Fuji called your name and apologized as he ran after you. His laughter definitely was _not helping_. Whatever else he had intended to say died on his lips as he entered the store.

"Um..." the store was just as it had looked on the outside and, honestly, Fuji had no idea how the place could even be classified as a sports store. Now, he was wondering if your knowledge on the sport, in sports in general, _was_outdated.

"Hooo? If it isn't Yayoi!" the old man behind the counter greeted them, well you, with a lazy grin.

"Yo, Ossan. Still alive, are you? And here I thought Akira would be the one to greet me this time," you greeted back with an almost wolfish grin.

"And _you're _still a cheeky brat," the shop owner told you with a scowl.

"So? To what do I owe the pleasure after these long nine years? Decided to pick up a racket again?" he asked.

"No, but this guy's in need of some good supplies," you informed him, jutting your thumb at Fuji.

"Thought you could help us out."

"Hm? This that nephew you were talkin' about?" the shop owner asked, eyeing Fuji with interest. You guessed he was probably trying to spot the similarities between the two of you.

"Do we _look _the same?" you asked with a snort.

"I was guessin' your sister-in-law's Chinese or something." You raised a brow at the old man before turning to your companion.

"All the stuff that gets distributed to the local sport outlets are transported here first. Unfortunately, before the equipment gets there, those private athletic teams buy out all the top-quality stuff from old Tanaka here," you explained to Fuji as you went around the counter and let Fuji and yourself into the door behind it. The shop owner only continued drinking his coffee, Fuji noted. Apparently, he was already used to you doing this.

* * *

The room was really nothing more than a dingy storage room.

"Tennis, tennis, tennis... Ah! Here it is."

When you opened one of its many boxes, however, Fuji found out that it was more like a treasure chest. It looked very close to just falling apart but it held treasures that are mostly exclusive to a limited number of eyes.

"Wow..." Fuji crouched down next to you to examine the equipment that were so glaringly top quality.

"He's got most of everything in here and the stuff lasts around five times longer than the ones you get on the market so it's going to be a while before you have to shop for supplies again," you explained.

"I see..." Fuji nodded as he rummaged through the box gently. You were about to go further with your explanation when your ringtone went off. Fuji watched you as you took out your phone and promptly glared when you saw the caller. It was Shion. You debated on whether or not to ignore it because there was an extremely high possibility that it was something stupid. Then again, Shion was suppose to be at work so there was also the possibility that it was work-related.

With a suffering sigh, you rose to your feet.

"Just get anything you want in there. I just need to take this call," you told the boy before leaving. Fuji heard you tell Tanaka that you had left him in the storage room before he heard the shop's door close.

Silence was all Fuji heard as he looked around the boxes for his needs. In a few short minutes, he was able to gather his supplies, which he brought to the counter. He smiled at the door. He, along with the rest of Roppongi he bets, could hear you yelling at whoever was on the phone.

"You got some good eyes, Boy. Everything here's from my best stock," Tanaka told Fuji.

"Ah, thank you."

"What's your name? Yayoi didn't say."

"Fuji, sir. Fuji Syusuke."

"You go to Seigaku?"

"Yes."

"Sumire still alive?"

"Oh? You know Ryuuzaki-sensei?"

"All old people know each other, Kid."

"Haha, I see. Yes, she's alive and well."

"She should be. She'd miss out with all the good tennis players at Seigaku if she retired now." Tanaka shot him a smirk, earning a modest chuckle from the teenager.

Silence came upon them again after that, the only sound being that of Tanaka's pen scribbling on his record book. Once he was finished, he wrapped up all of Fuji's purchases and handed them to the boy.

"Ah, how much will it be, Tanaka-san?" Fuji asked, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

"This one's on the house." Fuji looked up in surprise. Tanaka turned away, scratching the back of his head.

"It's been too long since that kid came around and you're the reason she did, plus its your first time shopping here. Consider it incentive to come again or whatever." The surprise on Fuji's face was wiped away and replaced with a smile.

"Thank you very much, Tanaka-san," the middle schooler said with a bow.

"It's only free the first time, alright? Don't go thinking that the next time will be too, now scoot!"

Fuji grinned at the old shop owner before exiting the store.

"STOP BOTHERING ME OR I'LL FUCKING KICK YOUR ASS TOMORROW!" Fuji's grin could only go wider as he saw you shouting into your phone, which you snapped shut with a huff.

"Yayoi-san," he called. You blinked and turned towards your companion.

"Oh, you're done?" Fuji nodded.

"You were right, there were some really high-quality supplies. I'm glad I came."

"I told you, didn't I?" you asked him with a grin and a wave to the shop's open window form which Tanaka could be seen waving back.

"It's almost lunch, let's go eat before we go home," you suggested as the both of you walked towards your car. Fuji agreed as he had also told his mother not to cook lunch for him.

* * *

In the end, the two of you settled for a nearby fast food restaurant. Unfortunately, there were too many people inside so the both of you decided to just get take out and eat in the car. And, because Fuji wanted to pay you back even a little bit for taking him to Roppongi, he volunteered to do so.

"Yayoi-san, I've got the—" Fuji cut himself off when he looked inside the car. There you were, leaning back on the driver's seat, fast asleep.

"_Something happened at work so I got out a bit too late_," he remembers you saying. With a smile, Fuji notes that your slumbering face was the most peaceful face he's ever seen you make. Almost like a baby. Or a cactus.

With some struggle, Fuji manages to open the unlocked—thank god—car door and let himself in. He closed the door as gently as he could.

Not gently enough, apparently, as it was the action that served as a catalyst for your awakening.

"Fuji, what...?" you asked, looking at him with unfocused eyes.

"It's fine, Yayoi-san. Go to sleep," he told you gently. You look at him incomprehensibly.

"Sleep...?" Fuji controlled his laughter.

"Yes, go to sleep, Yayoi-san."

"Sleep..." you nodded sleepily. You closed your eyes and turned to your side, only to get restrained by the seatbelt you apparently still had on. You groaned and whined tiredly as you struggled with the safety equipment. Fuji only smiled as he watched the scene.

You were cute when you were half-asleep.

Finally deciding to put you out of your misery after a good ten minutes, Fuji unbuckled your seatbelt and gently guided you to your side where you curled up like a little cat. He waited for a few minutes, before deciding that you were fast asleep.

By this point, Fuji was almost shaking with restraint. He knew that it was reasonable to assume that you didn't want pictures of your sleeping face and he wanted to respect your wishes, he really did. But...

"Nnnnn...!" you half-whined, half-purred.

He reached under his seat and pulled out his camera, using it to take shot after shot after shot of your sleeping form. He stopped only when you stirred from the noise, but resumed his work when you went back to sleep.

You were really, _really _cute when you were asleep.

* * *

******Hmm, I think I've been reading too much BL manga lately. Yayoi's starting to act like a Tsundere-kun, I wonder if that's alright?**

**Lol, I thought about ending this chapter like a shoujo manga with Fuji thanking the sleeping you with sparkling roses in the background but somehow it ended up with the brat getting blackmail material. Oh! And there's some Ryoma/Yayoi cuteness in there too~!**

**Also, I'd like to clarify that I have no idea what Roppongi looks like in the morning, nor do I know if it's comparable to Chiba (the place Fuji grew up in). I'm really just really making this up as I go.**

**ANYWAY, thank you Nance-chan and Gemitri-chan for your reviews! This chapter is for you guys and Meii-tan who wanted this chapter out. Hope it wasn't too disappointing ^_^"**

**Thanks for reading and please don't forget to leave a review~!**

**-Iggy**


	8. Chapter 7: Particular Palates

**YAY, UPDATE~! Oh, and thank you Nance-chan for your review!**

* * *

Fuji Syusuke entered the diner with the intention to study for his upcoming exams. It had nothing to do with the fact that he spotted your car in front of it or the familiar mop of dark green hair peaking out from underneath a big blue lump that was slumped over at one of the booths. He was just looking for an interesting place to study and he found the diner to be just that...

... is what he would tell you in the event that you demand why the hell he was there.

It wasn't a total lie because he really was looking for a place to study. There was no tennis practice, and the library and home just wasn't appealing to him as nice places to study, hence the predicament. But, any person would know that a crowded diner was not an ideal place to study, either.

Well, he was sure you wouldn't mind too much.

"Yayoi-san?" he called as though he didn't know it was you.

No reply came from the woman who was using her crossed arms on the table as a pillow.

"Yayoi-san, are you alright?" Fuji tried again, shaking your shoulder this time. His efforts earned him a guttural, almost painful-sounding groan.

"Hana... already said... don't want... medicine..." your muffled voice whined weakly as you retreated further into your blanket.

Fuji frowned. Medicine?

"Sir, I'm sorry but you can't sit there!" A waitress who looked just about your age approached him. Her name tag spelled "Hana", Fuji noticed.

"We have other seats available so if you'd just—"

"Um, I was just wondering if Yayoi-san's alright," Fuji told the waitress, adding your name in to make it clear that he knew you. Hana blinked.

"Oh! Are you a friend of Yayoi's?" Fuji answered in the affirmative.

"Good!" the woman shrieked. She rushed to the counter, grabbed something and went back to Fuji to push that something into his hands. As it turns out, the "something" was actually several things: a glass of water and some pills.

"Yayoi got sick, you see, and she was given the rest of the day off because of it. Unfortunately, she was too weak to drive all the way home so she ended up here. I'd like to help but the ungrateful bitch won't drink her medicine and I still have work to attend to, so please take care of Yayoi!" Hana complained in a long-winded speech that eventually ended in a request (demand) that he takes care of you. Fuji didn't mind, though. He liked spending time with you and your face that basically displayed every little thing you were thinking.

"I'll do my best." Fuji nodded. With an extremely relieved thanks, the waitress went off to serve customers as Fuji slipped into the booth opposite of you.

"Yayoi-san," he called gently.

"Yayoi-san, wake up. You have to drink your medicine."

"Hana, I already—!"

"I'm not Hana-san," Fuji told you with a chuckle. The blue lump became devoid of movement for a few seconds before you threw it off to glare at Fuji. Your bleary gaze reminded him somewhat of when you fell asleep in your car after the trip to Roppongi, only this time you were more hostile than dazed.

It was still cute, though. The red nose was an especially nice touch, too.

"Fuji...?" you murmured, narrowing your eyes at him. Fuji responded with a friendly smile.

"Yes, now please drink your medicine."

"I'm fine. I have a blanket."

"That's true, but you don't have medicine," Fuji told you patiently. Your eyes looked over at the blister pack of cold medicine in his hand before you met the middle schooler's smiling eyelids. Without much of a warning, you promptly plopped back onto the table. The fluffy blanket followed suit, landing on your head with a flop. Fuji hoped he was successful in making his laugh sound like a cough.

"Don't need it," your muffled voice insisted.

"But Yayoi-san, you won't be able to get well soon if you don't take it."

"Don't want it," was your very much mature response. Fuji smiled at your childishness before letting out an exaggerated sigh.

"I didn't want you to know about this, but what am I going to do with this picture if you don't take your medicine?" Your ears twitched at the inquiry. Picture?

You peeked out from under the blanket, only to see a picture of you, pouting and clad in a Doraemon costume.

"DELETE IT!" you yelled, almost jumping out from under the covers.

"Saa, are you sure? Right now I have both my phone and your pill in my right hand and your water in my other." You scowled. The bastard had done this on purpose, putting the pill in between his pointer and middle fingers while the other three held onto his open phone.

"Then just put the pill down!"

"Ehhh? But it'll get dirty."

"Give it to me, then!"

"I won't give it to you if you're going to throw it." No matter how much the kid pretends, there is no mistaking that that smile on his face was a smug one.

"The way I see it, Yayoi-san, if you don't take your pill from me, I might _accidentally send it to Echizen_ rather than delete it. However, I won't hand it over unless you drink it. What to do, I wonder?" You lips pressed into a tight line. You knew there was a reasonable way around this, but for some reason your mind just couldn't come up with it right now. Your lips trembled as you wondered what you would do.

"B-But...! I-If I take that, I'll fall asleep! And I don't know when I'd wake up! I don't know _if _I'd wake up because Hana has a grudge on me so I know she'll lock me in here if she gets the chance!" you cried pitifully, hiding within the blanket once again. The tennis tensai's face softened at your small display of weakness.

"Yayoi-san," he called, placing a hand on your head. You looked up at the smiling boy with a quivering frown. Pitiful tears had already gathered at the corners of your eyes and Fuji couldn't help but think about how cute you were being. However, as the goal right now was to comfort you, he didn't allow the amusement to become apparent on his face. He imagined that you wouldn't be very comforted if he did.

"I'll stay here and study, okay? When I finish, I'll wake you up so we can both go home," he said. You began to sniffle, now more from the almost crying than from your sickness.

"Really...?"

"Really."

With a small pout, you nodded. Slowly but surely, you took the medicine from his fingers and swallowed it with a mouthful of water. It wasn't even two minutes until your eyes began to droop. Fuji smiled gently and began to take his notebooks out from his bag. You rested your head on the table as you watched him do so.

"Fuji..." you called.

"Yes, Yayoi-san?"

"Don't go anywhere, okay?" Fuji laughed.

"Of course I won't."

"Okay... just making sure... you understood..."

Fuji merely smiled and watched you drift off to sleep willingly. He stared for a second or two before smiling in glee and turning to his books.

You forgot about the picture, he noted with amusement.

* * *

"Yayoi! Yaaaaayoi!"

"Urgh..."

"Oh! She's waking up! Yayoi! Yayoi, wake up!" Hana called to the sleeping you.

"So... noisy..."

The tick mark that appeared on the waitress's head was the only warning you had (but didn't see) before she brought her fist down on your head.

"WAKE UP, YOU LAZY ASS!"

"ITEEEE!" That had certainly woken you up.

"What the hell?!" you yelled angrily. Hana huffed at you and placed her hands on her hips.

"Get up already and go home!"

"Ugh... you're not even closing yet! And I'm still tired..." you complained, trying to go back to sleep.

"I don't care about you but you have to take Fuji-kun home! He has school tomorrow!" You blinked and sat back up to look at Fuji who had a nervous little smile on his face. Oh, that's right. He was the one who made you take your medicine. You were a bit fuzzy on the details but you did remember that you'd asked him to wake you up.

"What time is it?" you asked, fumbling for you phone, which informed you that it was already six in the evening.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" you asked Fuji exasperatedly, scratching the side of your head. Hana answered your question (sort of).

"Idioooot! Fuji-kun is obviously the gentlemanly type! He wouldn't wake you up simply because it was against his princely character and he was thinking something like—"

"Hana."

"'—Yayoi-san must be tired and she looks cute too so—"

"_Hana_."

"I won't wake her up but maybe one kiss—!"

"**Hana**."

The waitress blinked as she returned to reality. She turned to her two companions. Fuji greeted her with a nice enough smile. You had a positively murderous stare that clearly told her to stop right there.

But, because the woman had a habit of totally disregarding whatever you thought, she opened her mouth to start talking again. She was unable to do so, however, because the owner of the diner, its chef and Hana's father, Todou Shinjirou, beat her to it.

"HANA! STOP BOTHERING THE CUSTOMERS AND GET BACK TO WORK!"

"IT'S NOT A CUSTOMER, TOU-SAN. IT'S YAYOI!"

"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT YAYOI, I'M TALKING ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE!"

Yayoi and Fuji simply watched the scene unfold, the former with a frown and the latter with a nervous smile. Both wondered if the father and daughter knew that they were _both _bothering their customers.

With a groan, you rose from the booth, big blue blanket still wrapped around your shoulders and a hand on your slightly throbbing head.

"Are you okay, Yayoi-san?" Fuji asked, rising as well.

"Yeah," you confirmed, taking your hand away from your head. You looked at the middle schooler tiredly.

"Did you finish studying?"

"Not yet, but I'll finish later."

"Did you already text home that you're going to be late?"

"Yes. Just a few minutes ago."

"Good. Come here," you said, motioning for the middle schooler to follow you and he did until it became apparent that you were heading towards a door that said "Employees Only".

"Um, Yayoi-sa—"

"Just follow me," you told the boy before opening the door.

"We're just going to eat in the kitchen, okay Shinjirou-san?" you told the old man. He grunted in response and you turned to your young companion.

"C'mon."

* * *

"You drink coffee, Fuji?" you asked as you placed a pot and a kettle on the stove—the former to heat the miso soup you found in the refrigerator and the latter to boil water.

"Ah, yes," Fuji confirmed from his position on a chair. You gave him a nod before setting off to work around the kitchen.

Fuji would have helped you but he wasn't sure if it was alright. He didn't even know if what you were doing was alright, but since Shinjirou ignored the both of you in favor of reading the newspaper—he wasn't too busy since the afternoon rush was already over and people don't usually go to his diner for dinner since it mostly serves snacks and breakfast—Fuji guessed it was.

You were cutting up some daikon for the Furofuki Daikon you intended to cook when the kettle began to whistle. You placed the daikon and some water into another pot before attending to the whistling kettle.

Fuji watched as you took out a press pot from inside a cabinet. There was no hesitation and no mistake in your actions.

Now, Fuji was curious. Other than the fact that you moved as though you were cooking in your own kitchen, you were putting spoonfuls of ground coffee beans into the press pot despite the still-full pot of coffee beside you. Now Fuji knew that you weren't always very careful but he was sure that you knew that the coffee existed as its scent had been lingering in the room ever since you both entered it.

"Yayoi-san, are you a coffee gourmet?" Fuji asked in conclusion. It wasn't probable that you didn't notice the existing coffee so he assumed that it just wasn't brewed to your liking. A scoff was let out from behind him.

"Gourmet? Don't start thinking that Yayoi's some cultured woman, Fuji-kun. She's just really picky with her coffee," Hana told him as she entered the kitchen to attend to the Furofuki Daikon. You gave her a scowl.

"Not 'picky'. I'm just particular."

"Which is the four-syllabled way to say you're picky." You chose to ignore the waitress and turn your attention to the press pot that was in need of some pressing.

"It's not like I'm into experiencing all kinds of coffee or anything. I just prefer my coffee in a certain way and I don't like deferring from that way unless I've got no choice," you told Fuji, who hummed in understanding.

"Do you like coffee too, Fuji-kun?" Hana asked sweetly, a complete 180 from her attitude towards you.

"Yes, I usually drink in the mornings but I still drink at night if I need to study," Fuji informed his elder.

"Wow~ That's so mature, Fuji-kun! Drinking coffee in the morning, just like a classy adult~" Hana swooned. Both you and Shinjirou regarded the woman with cocked brows. Fuji only laughed.

"Hey, I don't know what you're imagining but that kid's twelve years younger than you. Keep your paws off," you told Hana exasperatedly. Hana shifted from swooning to glaring at you in a matter of milliseconds. Honestly, was the woman bipolar or something? You didn't back down, though. You didn't know what she was thinking but you would bet your hard-brewed coffee that it was a crime. Finally, she huffed and turned away from you.

"Fine! If I can't touch Fuji-kun, Yayoi can't too!"

"I wasn't planning to," you sneered before turning back to your coffee, which was now ready. You poured some of it into two cups, one to drink and another to give Fuji. The boy thanked you gratefully.

You cocked a brow when Fuji sipped into the cup. He didn't even flinch. You knew for a fact that your preferred brew was a particularly strong one. Even Hiraoka still flinched when you made him coffee and that man had been drinking coffee since he was 18. And Hiraoka was already _54_.

"You... like it?" you asked the boy uncertainly. Fuji smiled up at you.

"Yes, it's really nice. I think I need to add something, though." Right, lots of milk and sugar. You guessed he was just pretty good at hiding his discomfort. And no, your pride wasn't hurt because some middle schooler could handle your proudly strong brew.

"Yayoi-san, can I know where the wasabi is?"

"It's in the refrigerator."

"Ah, thank you."

...

Your eyes bulged.

"WASABI?!" All the adults in the room yelled. The boy didn't even flinch at the reaction. He scooped a little more than a spoonful of the green paste and mixed it into the coffee like one would a spoonful of sugar. The three adults were horrified.

"F-Fuji-kun, don't—!"

But Hana's warning fell on dear ears as Fuji proceeded to drink the wasabi-infested coffee.

_Gulp, gulp, gulp... _

"Ahhh! That's really refreshing!" Fuji cried as though he just drank a cup of iced tea. The adults' jaws dropped to the floor.

Yep, your pride definitely was not hurt.

"H-Hey Kid, are you okay...?" Shinjirou asked, shaking slightly.

"Un! It's really delicious! Would any of you like to try some?"

You and the father-daughter combo rushed to a corner of the room, far away from the gustatorily-retarded middle schooler.

* * *

"You know," you spoke uncertainly. Your tone could be denoted partly to the whole wasabi fiasco from a few moments ago and partly to the fact that you were never very good at acting like an adult. Fuji's responses toward your attempts (smiling, grinning, laughing, etc.) was proof of that.

"You shouldn't drink coffee too much. I know it's a good way to get the day started but it's basically like cigarettes, you know? The only difference is that cigarettes target your lungs first while coffee goes straight for the heart." You refrained from taking a much-needed sip from your beverage, if only to make a point.

"In that case, why give the kid coffee at all," Shinjirou asked with a smirk. Blood flooded your cheeks as you realized your mistake.

"I-I...! Th-The only reason I'm giving him coffee is because..."

"... because you've already made it, right?" Hana snickered.

"_N-No_, it's because—"

"I'm pulling an all-nighter to study tonight, right Yayoi-san?" Fuji finished for you. He turned to you with a smile and somehow, you wondered if you were going to pay for that save.

"Y-Yeah..." was your pathetic answer.

"I see," Hana nodded. She turned to the stove to hide her giggles.

"That's it, that's it," Shinjirou snickered, pulling her newspaper back up. Fuji smiled up at you who tried hard not to look embarrassed. Hana turned off the gas.

"Hey, totally different different topic: isn't it pathetic when middle schoolers have to make excuses for 27-year-old adults?"

Your face burned with shame.

* * *

"Fuji, take some coffee home," you told the boy as you rose to help Shinjirou clear the kitchen table of used dishes.

"Um, well—"

"Your pulling an all-nighter, right? Use it to keep yourself up. Just heat it up in a kettle or something," you told him.

"Well then, if it's not too much trouble."

"Great, you got a thermos or something?"

"A water jug."

"Go get it."

Fuji handed you his jug to fill the now-cool coffee. Hana—who tried to wash the dishes but was told by her father to "Be quiet and let me do this", which can be translated to "Thanks for your hard work, Papa will do the rest", Hana liked to believe—settled down on the seat beside him.

"Hana-san," Fuji called as he watched you expertly go around the kitchen.

"Hmmm?"

"I was wondering, you all seem very used to Yayoi-san."

"Ah, you're wondering why we just let her go around as she pleases?" Hana translated for him with a grin. Fuji smiled and nodded.

"Well, you see, Yayoi used to work part-time here. Way back when we were in high school," Hana explained.

"Oh, you're from Seigaku too, Hana-san?"

"Yup~ Yayoi used to play tennis back then, but her father didn't approve of it so he stopped giving her money for tennis supplies. Plus, he got sick so there wasn't any money to give anyway. Her solution was to get a part-time job here.

"The place didn't really change much in the years so she still pretty much knows where everything is located. She comes by sometimes and we just let her do what she wants since she's always so stressed ever since, well..."

"I see..." Fuji hummed despite not really knowing what the waitress was alluding to in her last statement. He watched as you re-wore your black blazer and fixed your things.

He always knew that you were significantly older than him and it had never really bothered him before, since you never really acted in a way that reminded him of the gap. In fact, you always acted as though the both of you were equals and not in a forced way like school guidance counselors would. That was just the way you were.

After the little conversation with Hana, however, the fact came back to hit him full force. It became blindingly apparent that you had walked this earth several years more than he did. You experienced a time in which he wasn't even born yet and there were things you knew that he probably would never understand.

"Fuji, let's go. It's getting late, I don't want to make your parents worry."

He couldn't, for the life of him, articulate what he felt about it.

"Ah, yes."

But he was bothered by it, of that he was sure.

* * *

**Extended Ending:**

"You're always welcome here so come again soon, okay Syusuke-kun~?"

"Will do, Hana-san."

"Syusuke...-kun?"

"What? We shared a meal, didn't we~?"

"... Do I have to spell it out for you? This is a _crime_."

"It's fine, it's fine~ I'm not the police officer here, am I?"

"... FUJI, WE'RE GOING."

"E-Eh?"

"Bye bye, Syusuke-kun~!"

"Hurry up! This place is really giving me a bad feeling..."

* * *

**Never really understood the point of extending endings until now. It's like, the story could be without them but you still put them cause it's fun or something like that.**

**Anyway, Fuji is beginning to realize some things! Yayoi remains an idiot! NOW WHAT?!**

**... or something like that. Haha.**

**Oh! And for those who didn't know, a press pot's a some fancy pot to brew coffee. A friend's mom uses it and the results are ****_heavenly_****, which is why Yayoi uses it. You can search it up if you wanna.**

**The regulars are finally going to make an appearance soon and I'm a bit nervous about it. I haven't actually watched Prince of Tennis in years so I'm not really sure how the canon characters talk and act anymore. Pointers would be nice ^_^"**

**ANYWAY, thanks for reading! Remember: Reviews Are Always Appreciated!**

**-Iggy**


	9. Chapter 8: Spikes

**Yay update~! I'm on a ROLL! Nyehe~**

* * *

For Matsushita Shion, it was always a good thing that you can hold your liquor well. It meant that she can drink even after she pukes all over the place and not worry about how she would get home or where she would be in the morning because that job would go to you, the usually sober one.

"Yayoi, you have to be _quiet_," Shion whispered as she opened the front door of the Echizen house with your key.

"Qui-hic-yet...?"

"Yes, shhhhh!"

"Oooooooh," you said before throwing your whole weight onto her back.

You were, however, human and there were times when you got drunk too.

With a few trips, a few giggles and a lot of orders to be quiet on her part, Shion managed to get you to your room without waking anyone up. She sighed in relief at that.

Her relief was short-lived, however, as the moment she opened the door, you collapsed onto the floor with a load **BANG!**

Shion practically jumped into your room and slammed your door shut. She allowed you to stay sprawled on the floor in favor of pressed her ear on the door and listening for anyone who woke up. If anyone asked her the next morning—when her system is utterly devoid of alcohol—she wouldn't be able to say why she was so jumpy. The Echizen family was actually used to her ways and had even taken care her, you or the both of you when either or both came home drunk.

That didn't stop her heart from pounding at her ears, though.

After a few minutes of silence, Shion was able to convince herself that no one was woken up by your noise. That was when she noticed your position on the floor.

With a sigh, she took out the futon from your closet and laid it out it near where you had landed. She yawns as approaches you. She took off your belt and slacks, leaving you in only your blazer, white shirt and underwear. She slips you out of your blazer and manages to unhook your bra from over your shirt. She doesn't take out your bra because she decided that you'd take care of that in the morning.

Ahhh, she was really fucking sleepy.

Nonetheless, she kneels on your futon to fold your clothes because she knew you liked your things nice and neat.

She had been folding your slacks when a shadow overcame her. She looked up and found you standing over her with a dazed little grin. She was about to ask what was wrong with you when you suddenly tackled her onto the futon.

"O-Oi Yayoi!" Shion cried as you rubbed your cheek against hers.

"Soooo fluffyyyyyyy~"

When intoxicated, you often slept. If you weren't unconscious, you were clingy as hell. If you weren't unconscious or clinging to someone, you were probably leaning over a toilet and puking your guts out.

Your breath begins to even out, signaling that you were unconscious once again. With a sigh, Shion pats your head. She couldn't help but let out a smile as she drifted off to sleep herself.

Shion didn't mind when you got drunk. She didn't mind as long as she was sober enough to be the one to look after you.

...

"**AH!**"

"SHIT!" Shion yelled when you got up so suddenly that you'd hit her cheekbone. Your knee that dug into her side when you kneeled right up really wasn't helping either.

"I haven't watered Sabo-kun yet!"

"Yayoi, it's a _cactus_. You don't _need _to water it! Ugh..."

"But I haven't watered him for a week already!" you said in your dazed panic as you got up. You didn't get far, however, until you tripped over something—Shion really couldn't make sure what at this point because she was still writhing in pain.

Shion scowled at you, who had remained motionless and slumped over the table beside your window. She knew about your cactus, the one that Fuji kid gave you. It was a stupid gift, if one was to ask her. What were you suppose to do with a fucking cactus anyway? Throw it at criminals in case you forgot your gun? Honestly, she knew better than anyone that you needed a hobby—she was the one suffering because of your lack of it!—but it could at least be a useful one. Even taking care of fish was better than taking care of a fucking cactus, at least the fish actually looked alive. The thing didn't even need to be watered everyday so you don't even take care it it much. You didn't have to get out of bed and trample all over her for it.

But, even though she thought it was a fucking stupid hobby, Shion still rose from her comfort to attend to the plant—if you could even call it that. She grabbed your little watering can from your desk and headed over to your windowsill with a glare.

The glare was wiped from her face when something peculiar caught her eyes.

"Cacti have flowers...?"

"FLOWERS?!"

Shion wondered if her chin was going to need surgery for that.

You ignored your friend, whom you had just head-butted, in favor of looking at the flower-topped Sabu-kun in wide-eyed awe. It bloomed! It really bloomed! Fuji had told you that cacti sometimes had flowers but you didn't expect Sabu-kun to have one _this _early!

"Fuji!" you cried, grabbing your phone to call your friend right away. After a few rings, the call goes into voice mail. You ended the call upon hearing the robotic voice's and redialed. Shion sighed. She looked at the alarm clock and read 2:42 am.

"Yayoi, just give it up. The kid's probably—"

"_Yayoi-san_?"

"Fuji!" you yelled happily.

"_Yes?_"

"Fuji, Fuji!" Fuji chuckled.

"_Yes, Yayoi-san_?"

"It bloomed! It really, really bloomed!"

"_Sabo-kun?_"

"Yeah! It's all white! And pink! In the middle!"

"_That's great, Yayoi-san!_"

"I know! Do you see it? It's really, really pretty!"

"_I—_"

"Idiot, you haven't even sent him a picture yet," Shion told you from the side where she was grumbling and folding your clothes. You blinked.

"Picture...? Oh! A picture!"

"_Haha, yes Ya_—" Whatever Fuji wanted to say was left unheard by you because you immediately hung up to take the picture and send it. You dialed Fuji's number right after. Shion sighed. You were ditzy as hell when you were drunk.

"_Hello Yayoi-san?_"

"Did you see it?!"

"_Ahaha, you called too fast, Yayoi-san. I haven't even opened the file yet._"

"Eeeeeh? Hurry up and open it then!"

"_Alright, alright. I'll open it then I'll call you._"

"Hurry up, okay?" You heard Fuji laugh at your impatience.

"_Yes, yes_."

The boy hung up and you placed the phone on the table. You waited for his call with your hands against your chest.

Shion raised a brow at you. She knew you were drunk and you would never act this dumb otherwise, but why did you seem so excited about the brat's approval? Honestly, it was so troublesome.

"Sabo-kun doesn't do much but I like him. He makes me happy. Fuji gave Sabu-kun to me so I want Fuji to like Sabu-kun and be happy too."

Shion blinked. She wasn't aware that she had voiced her opinion out loud. Maybe she was drunker than she thought?

Nevertheless, you answered with all the logic of a kindergartener and the ridiculousness of it all would've normally made Shion laugh and allow you to think whatever you want.

Only you had said it with all the conviction and sincerity that only a kindergartener could posses. Shion frowned at that.

It took a few seconds, but Fuji called again. You answered after one ring.

"FUJI!"

"_You were right, Yayoi-san. It was really pretty!_"

Shion watched as a bright smile bloomed on your face. Suddenly, the flower didn't seem so spectacular anymore.

"Did you like it?" you asked softly as you rested your head on the table, your eyes still on the flower.

"_Of course. Yayoi-san worked hard to make it bloom, right?_"

"Uhuh." Shion wanted to believe that the blush on your face was because of the alcohol.

"Hey Fuji, since you gave me Sabu-kun, does this mean you're giving me flowers too?" Your eyes were beginning to droop now. Fuji's breathy laughter flowed from the phone to your ears.

"_Yayoi-san, are you drunk?_"

"Un."

There was no response from Fuji for a few seconds and in that few seconds, you had fallen asleep. Shion took the phone from your hands and brought it to her ear.

"_Yayoi-san, I_—"

"Yayoi's fell asleep now," Shion spoke quickly.

"She was drunk so you have to excuse the stuff she said. She probably didn't mean any of it."

"_Ah, I see... Thank you, um..._"

Shion hung up and went to sleep.

She hoped you get a stiff neck in the morning.

* * *

**So Sabo-kun's name came from the Japanese word for cactus which is "Saboten". Yeah, Yayoi's (I'm) not very creative. Haha...**

**The chapter with the regulars is next and I am stalling with this chapter. Haha~... SOMEONE GIVE ME POINTERS. **

**Ahaha...**

**And TeniPuri-nya-chan, please consider the guy's taste buds before you do. HE DRANK INUI JUICE AND DIDN'T DIE. Haha, but if you go through with it, tell me the result (if you live)~**

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review~**

**-Iggy**


	10. Chapter 9: Yayoi's Delivery Service

**The regulars have arrived~! Oh, and thanks for the review Nyaakitty-chan/kun!**

* * *

That day was a very nice day. The sky was blue with no rain clouds at sight. The sun was shining, but not beating down. The wind was blowing, bringing a cool calm to anyone who stood outside. Bottom line, it was a very, very nice spring day in Tokyo, and that is why Ryuuzaki Sumire had her regulars spend lunch at the tennis courts.

"I couldn't enjoy my lunch at all, nyaaaa!" Kikumaru Eiji whined from his position on a bench. He had been watching the two sophomore regulars go at it on a court, having just finished his own match with Oishi.

"Maa maa, I'm sure your mother will pack you tamagoyaki again next time," Oishi Syuchiro comforted his doubles partner.

"Demo, demo, demoooo! That's gonna take a long time! I want tamagoyaki now!" the acrobat continued to complain as he latched onto the one and only freshman regular, who just happened to be passing by.

"Kikumaru-senpai," Ryoma groaned as the arms around his neck became tighter.

"Ochibiiii!" he wailed to his underclassman. The other third years, with the exception of Tezuka Kunimitsu and Inui Sadaharu who were focused on the match, could only smile at their friend's antics, although Oishi and Kawamura Takashi's were more exasperated while Fuji's was more amused.

"Soft, squishy, slightly salty tamagoyakiiiiiiii. It was right THERE but all I tasted was tasteless_ food_! Uwaaaahhhh!" Eiji cried, hugging his already suffocating underclassman tighter.

"Eiji, come on, you're suffo—" but Oishi was cut off by a rather loud, almost animalistic growl. All the regulars at the benches blinked.

"Wh-What...?" Taka-san stuttered. Eiji looked down at the freshman in his arms.

"Ochibi, was that...?"

_UUUUUURGGGG_

"E-Echizen! Why—? Didn't you eat?!" Oishi asked, prepping to nag like the mother hen he was.

"No..."

"Well, why no—"

"RYOOOOOO-CHAAAAAAN~!"

A yellow flash was all anyone saw before the freshman regular was snatched away from Eiji's arms.

"Ah! Ochibi!" Eiji yelled in surprise. All eyes turned to the side where Ryoma's face was being smothered by the well-endowed breasts of a blonde woman. She didn't look like a teacher or even a reporter with her ruffly, white blouse that was only buttoned from the mid-breast down and was tucked into a pair of black slacks that were held up by suspenders.

"Ryooo-chaaaaan~! Shion-nee missed youuuuuu~!" the woman cried hugging the boy tighter. Ryoma, who seemed to finally understand the situation, began struggling against the woman.

"Shion-san, let go of me!" Ryoma complained, accidentally touching the woman's breast in the midst of his struggling. A bright blush colored the 12-year-old's cheeks, as well as all the other regulars'—even Kaidoh and Momo who had stopped their game to watch what was going on.

"Ahn~! So Ryo-chan has finally decided to let me make him a man~?" Shion giggled, pulling the blushing Ryoma away from her chest. She leaned down, going almost nose-to-nose with her best friend's nephew. Ryoma began to protest, only to have Shion place her dainty pointer finger on his lips.

"Don't worry, Ryo-chan. I'll be sure to make _extra spe_—ITEH!"

"Stop screwing around, Shion."

It seems that, because everyone was too focused on the spectacle, no one saw you until you've brought the plastic bento down on Shion's head.

"I was joking, Idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot Yayoi!" the blonde woman cried, rubbing her head. You ignored her and turned your attention to Ryoma, who was dusting himself off.

"You okay, Ryoma?" you asked. Your nephew grunted in confirmation.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked rudely. You frowned.

"Echizen!" Oishi cried and was about to scold the freshman when you began pinching the boy's nose.

"ITETETETE!"

"Don't get fresh with me, Brat. Just when I came all the way here to bring you your lunch too," you sneered.

Oishi watched, slack-jawed at the both of you. Ryoma had always been rather cheeky but nobody really punished him like... well, like _that_ because... because!

"E-Excu—!"

He was interrupted, however, by the snickering that was taking place behind him. Turning around, Oishi found two of his year-mates (Eiji and Fuji) and the two sophomores trying (and failing) to contain their laughter.

"OCHIBI GOT SCOLDED! WAHAHAHA!" Eiji burst out laughing.

"Mada mada—AHAH—dane, right?" Momo struggled to say in between laughs. The other two didn't speak but it was probably because they were putting all their efforts into suppressing their laughter.

"All of you...!" Oishi started and cut himself off in exasperation.

Blood crept to your cheeks as you finally noticed the middle schoolers. You promptly let go of Ryoma's nose, hoping not to embarrass your nephew any more.

"S-Sorry, are you okay?" you asked him. The boy grumbled and rubbed his nose with teary eyes. You gave him the bento as you dusted him off.

"Excuse me, but you're interrupting our practice," Tezuka spoke up, his face nothing if not strict. You practically shrank under the middle schooler's aura. You rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly.

"Sorry about that, um... Kougami Yayoi, I'm Ryoma's aunt. Nice to meet you." Your introduction and bow was met with some slightly embarrassed and some pleasant "Nice to meet you too"s.

"This is my co-worker, Matsushita Shion. She was just accompanying me."

"Hello~!" Shion greeted the boys with a wink and smile. The boys greeted back, although a little bit more embarrassed than with you.

You rose from your bow to apologize for the interruption when your eyes zeroed in on a familiar, smiling face.

"Oh—"

"Yayoi-san! Do you have embarrassing pictures of when Ochibi was a baby?" Eiji asked, raising his hand like a kid in class.

"Eh? W-Well..."

"That's right, that's right! Something like, uh..." Momo began to think.

"Something where he's wearing girl clothes, maybe?" Fuji, ever the instigator, suggested.

"Yeah, yeah! Something like that!"

"Ohhh! I think I remember a picture like that~"

"Shion! Stop saying things like that!"

"EHHH?! So there's really a picture where Ochibi wore girl clothes?!"

"N-No! It's not like that...!"

"Ii data..."

"Wha—?! Hey, what are you—"

"I wanna see that, I wanna see that!"

"Che, getting excited about something like that..."

"WHAT WAS THAT, MAMUSHI?!"

"EEEEHH?! YOU WANNA FIGHT?!"

"Wh-What the _hell_—?!"

"Now, now, you two."

"Kaidoh, Momo! Settle down!"

"Everyone's really energetic today~"

"Fuji! Stop _smiling _and_ do something_!"

It sort of ticked you off a bit that all it took to stop the chaos in the tennis courts was a throaty chuckle. All eyes turned to the source of the chuckle which was an old lady in a pink jumpsuit.

"What's this? I leave you all for a few minutes and you stop practicing?" Coach Ryuuzaki raises a brow at her regulars.

"EH?! Ryuuzaki-sensei's still alive?!"

And that was how Shion got her second bump of the day.

* * *

Fuji had never minded being treated like a kid. Besides the fact that he technically _was_ a kid, being 15 and all, getting treated like a kid is what usually made people underestimate him in tennis.

It is thanks to that underestimation that said people's defeat at his hand became all the more sweet.

If being treated like a kid made his life interesting, he thought he wouldn't mind if he got treated like a kid forever.

The past tense being key in that statement.

After Ryuuzaki had found that you and Shion visited, the first in a long time apparently, she pulled the both of you into easy conversation about how things were going. Ryoma took one look at the group of women and walked off to the court with Momo whom he had challenged to a practice match. Tezuka, who was glad that practice had finally resumed, turned away from the group and proceeded to watch his underclassmen. Inui and Kaidoh followed suit. Eiji had a little bit of a harder time letting go—he really wanted to see that photo—and had to be pulled away by Oishi and Taka-san who both wanted to respectfully leave the three adults to their privacy. Eiji allowed himself to be pulled to the bench when Oishi pointed out that Ryoma's bento seemed to have tamagoyaki. Fuji sat on the bench as well, but listened in on the conversation between the three women. Apparently, his coach had invited the two of you to have tea in her office.

"Or do you two want sake instead of tea now?" Ryuuzaki asked with a grin.

"Oho~ What a bad sensei, bringing sake to school~" Shion grinned right back.

"Could you two keep your voices down? The kids will hear."

Something stirred inside Fuji then. It was a familiar feeling, similar to how he felt after his conversation with Hana at the diner.

Looking at you, his coach and Shion, Fuji noted that the three of you reminded him of the group of ladies his mother would join when she accompanied him and his brother to the park as children. He remembered that whenever she joined that group, they would start talking about boring adult things. Things that he wouldn't be interested in. Things that he wouldn't understand because he was kid. Fuji knew and accepted that and that was why, when he, his mother and his brother would go to the park, he would immediately let go of her hand the moment she merges into that group. It was like his and Yuuta's cue to go and play. It wasn't an unwelcome cue, because Fuji had never been interested in penetrating that group before.

But now that group held you and suddenly, Fuji is wondering why would it have been weird for him to join? Why would it have been weird for him to butt in? Why were you trying not to smile when you were so obviously amused? Why were you amused? Why did you automatically assume that he wouldn't understand or appreciate the things you three talked about? Why was he thinking about this?

His ruminations hit a red light when your amber eyes suddenly met his. You gave him a one of your simple smiles that could only be described as "nice". It was nice because it wasn't given too little or too much effort. It wasn't lacking or over-compensating in any way. It was just a nice smile that was as natural as your character and it never made him feel as though he needed to adjust anything about himself because you simply didn't care.

Your smile was simple, and it was also short-lived because it only took a few seconds until you were pulled back into the conversation by Shion who was saying something that Fuji couldn't hear but was making you scowl.

He wondered why moments like this existed. Why there were times when he couldn't know what was going on with you. When it wasn't a choice to know what was going on with you. For him, those instances were nothing if not unpleasant. They were unpleasant because suddenly, you weren't equals anymore. You weren't friends who had learned knitting together, friends who had gone to a shady sports shop in Roppongi together, friends who had eaten dinner together in the kitchen of a diner or friends who took care of cacti together. All of a sudden, he was just a _kid_ and you were an _adult_ and—

... Ah...

Fuji's lips parted as he opened his eyes to look at you.

So that was it.

* * *

**I think the situation had always been Fuji going into Yayoi's world and interacting with Yayoi's friends. This time, I wanted to try making Yayoi go into Fuji's world and because she isn't as level-headed as Fuji, she couldn't interact with the regulars as well as Fuji interacted with Hana or Tanaka (the shop owner). Plus, she was trying hard to be a good aunt and not embarrass Ryoma.**

**I also realize that Fuji isn't really the type to openly want attention like a brat but I'd like to think of it as contemplation rather than him just wanting attention. Plus, it was sort of necessary since he had to be the one to realize it first because Yayoi's a bit too naive to think about their relationship as being more than friends.**

**Hope that made sense. Haha.**

**I also hope I got the regulars' characters right. I think they're right but I really can't be sure.**

**In the next chapter, we'll see what Fuji does with his newly discovered feelings! It's fight or flight!**

**... or something like that, haha.**

**Thanks for reading and leave a review~!**

**-Iggy**


	11. Chapter 10: Wake Up, Children

**Whoo~! First double digit chapter! Well, second if you count the prologue but anyway, sorry for the late update! Had family over and I couldn't really focus on writing. Anyways, as retribution: I'll be posting two chapters today. I'll post the other one in a while.**

* * *

You didn't hate Ryoma so much that you'd wish impotency on him like your brother, but the kid can be a real brat sometimes.

The both of you had been planning to watch that movie for three weeks now and he cancels on you on the day itself with a stupid note on the fridge that says he was going to play street tennis with Momo.

Honestly, he was the one who said he wanted to see Les Miserables. It was for him that you bought tickets to a movie you weren't even really interested in. It was for him that you woke up when it wasn't even dinner yet (you were really freakin' tired, okay?). Heck, you even took a day off because there was nobody to go with him (Nanako was busy with University, Rinko was busy with work and Nanjirou was busy being a lazy ass).

You wouldn't dare say that last one to him, though, lest you wanted to hate him so much that you would wish he becomes impotent.

You crumpled the note in your hand, threw it in the trash and plopped onto one of the dining chairs. What were you going to do now? You'd already dressed up in casual clothes and it would be a waste of effort if you didn't go out. You didn't mind watching alone but you had two tickets and it would be a waste of money this time if the other wasn't used. You opened your phone. Who would be available, you wondered?

"Yayoi! Did you see where my ma—ah, eh n-newspaper. D-Do you know where my newspaper is?" your stupid brother asked in panic when he appeared by the kitchen doorway.

"Your dirty magazine is on the porch. Hide it before Rinko-san gets home because neither me nor Nanako is going to do it for you," you told him. You didn't look at him, though, as it would probably only serve to piss you off more. Instead, you let your phone take the brunt of your glare.

"D-Dirty magazine? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

You turned your glare at him, causing him to let out a high-pitched squeal before inching away and eventually running off. Your face pulled into an expression of disgust. You didn't want to know what the universe was getting at but you'd sooner kill yourself than watch a movie with your brother.

You turned back to your phone to resume your search. "Who would want to?" You thought as you mindlessly scrolled down. You saw the names but didn't really register any of them until...

Fuji Syusuke.

"What types of movies do you like, Yayoi-san?" you remember him asking you when you were looking for a hobby at the mall.

"Hm... anything, I guess. I don't really watch movies very much."

"Heeeh, is that so?"

"What about you? What movies do you like?"

"Me? I like watching musicals."

"Musicals?"

"Un, movies like Sweeney Todd."

"Oh? I haven't watched that yet."

"You should! It's really interesting and has nice effects too."

You wanted to shoot him when you found out what he meant by "nice effects". That guy and his twisted tastes. Honestly, you saw enough blood as it is because of your work.

Nonetheless, he had said that he liked musicals so you supposed he would appreciate Les Miserables even if it isn't gory like Sweeney Todd.

You didn't even think of anyone else when you decided to press call.

And, it was a decision you'd come to regret later on.

* * *

"Hwaaa, that was really good," Fuji breathed out as the two of you exited the cinema.

"It was alright..."

"The movie's finished, Yayoi-san. You can stop crying now."

"I WASN'T CRYING, DAMMIT!" Fuji grinned at your futile attempts to get rid of the wetness in your eyes. He actually thought it was a bit amu—amazing that you were still crying, considering the fact that you started around 10 minutes into the movie, when Fantine was begging not to get fired.

"A-Anyway, you told your family you're going to eat out tonight, right? Where do you want to eat?" you asked in a grumble, still a bit ticked off due to being caught crying. Fuji brightened at the question.

"There's this new cajun restaurant that just opened up down the street," he suggested.

"Cajun...?"

"It's a really tasty type of cuisine. You should try it!"

"Sure, lead the way."

* * *

This kid mixed wasabi into coffee, drank it and said "that's refreshing!" like he was drinking iced tea in a commercial. You really should've considered this before following with his wills.

"SH-SH-SHPISHY! ICH SHPISHY!" you yelled after Fuji attempted to feed you gumbo. Your tears were threatening to spill over but there was no mistaking the amusement in the boy's face that he tried to cover up with worry. Nonetheless, you were still grateful when he handed you a glass of water that you promptly chugged down.

"So it's no good, huh?"

"IT'S NO GOOD! IT'S DEFINITELY NO GOOD!"

The thing was really fucking spicy and there was absolutely no chance that you would eat it again anytime soon. But, it wasn't that it was disgusting or uncooked. Someone somewhere (Fuji) probably would've found it delicious, but that person unfortunately was never going to be you.

"Saa, why don't you like it, I wonder? It's really tasty. I haven't even added the extra sauce and you already don't like it," Fuji thought out loud as he took a bite. You sweat dropped. There was an extra sauce?!

"I-It is tasty but too tasty for me. I may be particular with coffee but my tastes are just really plain. I like simple-tasting things like rice but I don't like things with too much seasoning," you explained so that the guy won't try to make you eat anything anymore.

"I see... so what will you eat now, Yayoi-san?"

"I told you, I'm fine with rice. I eat it by itself when Ryoma's the one cooking since the brat likes to put too much sauce in his dishes." Fuji frowned at that.

"How about the vegetables?" You stared at the bowl of greens suspiciously. If it was anything like the gumbo, then there was a very high possibility that you wouldn't like it one bit.

"Uh... I'll take my chances with the rice..."

"Yayoi-san, you shouldn't be too picky," Fuji chided, bringing over some vegetables to your bowl with his chopsticks.

"I said it already! I'm not picky, I'm just particular!" you denied in panic as you stopped his chopsticks with your own.

"And Hana-san said it already too, right? Particular is just a four-syllable way to say picky."

"Shut up! I'm older than you so stop being so cheeky! You're not even being original!"

"It's retribution since Yayoi-san's not acting very mature right now."

You looked down at your lap with a frown. You were being scolded by a boy who was 12 years your junior and he was smiling while doing it, like he was being patient with a kid who didn't know that what she was doing was bad.

The worst part of it was that he was right.

You miserably looked at the vegetables, up at Fuji then back to the vegetables again. You shut your eyes tight in fear as you let your chopsticks fall away from Fuji's. As quick as you can, you took the vegetable he was offering into your mouth.

You didn't see Fuji opening his eyes when you mindlessly engulfed his chopsticks with your mouth.

You squeezed your eyes tighter preparing for the worst. You chewed once, twice...

You blinked in surprise as the light flavoring didn't fill your mouth. You reached over to Fuji, who was smiling as he watched you with his regular closed eyes, and took a piece, and another, and another.

"So, I'm taking that you like it?" Fuji asked, the smugness in his voice hiding behind a thin veil of innocence. You ignored him, though, because the vegetables really were delicious.

"These are... really good!" you exclaimed in between bites, eyes wide as though you were making a big discovery in a case.

"Is that so? I'm glad you like them," Fuji said honestly. He hummed in thought as he took a bite of the gumbo you so disliked.

"But I still don't really understand it. I think the vegetables are really rather plain. They don't have a lot of flavor but I suppose it's what makes them a good side dish."

"I think it's better this way," you disagreed, looking up as you contemplated your companion's opinion.

"Life's already complicated in itself. I know that some people make it their life's work but I think that something like food shouldn't be made to be complicated too." Fuji had stared at you for a few minutes after your explanation. Once the few minutes were over, his lips began quivering with laughter, causing you to sputter indignantly.

"Hahaha! Your tastes are really weird, Yayoi-san!" Fuji gave you a gentle grin.

"I don't want to be told something like that by you!"

"Don't worry, I think it's really cute!"

"Shut up! I'm still taking offense!"

Dinner went on for another forty minutes, but the only way you would have really known that was by looking at the time. If you had just been estimating, you would have said that is wasn't so much of a long time, probably because you were content with your seasoned-enough vegetables and the conversation over dinner. It had been kept light, and was more of an exchange of opinions than anything.

For a middle schooler, Fuji was pretty mature. The things he said were always well thought-out and that didn't always help when the two of you had a lot of contradicting opinions. You found that you didn't really mind, though. It was probably because, although Fuji was a bit difficult when he got going with a thought and always seemed as though he was analyzing everything you said, you had to admit that it was rather fun to hear a change of perspective.

Once the two of you were finished, the bill was called over. He paid for it after some argument. ("Fuji, I do not care how much you were able to save up from your allowances. We are splitting this bill." "Yayoi-san, you have driven me home many times and you will do so again later. Please just think of this as payment for that." "This is this and that is that. We both partook in this meal and I am not going to let you pay for this by yourself!" "But Yayoi-san, you didn't even like most of what I ordered. You only ate the vegetables and rice." "Yeah, well, you're not really responsible for my tastes." "Yes, but we wouldn't even be here, in a restaurant that you don't really like, if I hadn't insisted hence, I'm responsible." "Yeah, and we wouldn't be eating out at all if I hadn't asked you  
to watch the movie with me!" "Yes, but you wouldn't have thought of me at all had I not told you that one time that I enjoyed musicals." "... HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW THAT?!" "Oh, so I was right?" "Y-You...") Sometimes, that kid's grin just really annoyed you.

Nonetheless, it was an overall pleasant dinner.

"Thank you for dining with us!" The waiter at the front bowed to you and Fuji. The two of you gave him a nod and was about to take off when,

"Okyayku-san[1]!"

You turned around at the sound of the familiar voice and found the waitress who had served you. She ran to you and Fuji with a crepe in her hand. She pushed it to your hand and gave you a blinding grin.

"Please enjoy this together~!

"Wha—"

"It's on the house~!" she assured you. It served to do nothing but make you more suspicious, however. Fuji, ever the calm one, chuckled and thanked the woman for the crepe.

"Oh, it's no problem~ Just..." you didn't heard the the rest as it seemed as though it was meant for Fuji's ears only. You frowned as you watched Fuji pull away from the woman who was whispering in his ear. He attempted to stay calm and deny whatever the grinning waitress had said but his nervousness gave him away. The waitress only gave him a wider grin and a teasing "I see, I see~". Your lips pulled into an even tighter frown.

"Fuji," you called, gaining both the waitress and the boy's attention.

"It's getting late, let's go."

"Ah, yes. Wai—" And with that, you pulled Fuji into the night and away from that grinning waitress.

It took a few minutes before you slowed down, and when you did, the two of you were already at the nearby park which was a little ways away from the parking lot that held your car.

"Yayoi-san, what are we doing here?" Fuji inquired, looking around at the darkening park. You stopped in your tracks and looked around suspiciously, getting your companion alarmed as well.

"Is she gone?" you asked, quietly. The boy blinked.

"She...?"

"That waitress!"

"Um... well, I think so..." You know, since she was all the way back at the cajun restaurant while you two were way over here.

You let out a sigh of relief, took a bite of the crepe and headed towards a nearby bench.

"Yayoi-san...?" Fuji questioned as he followed you. When he reached you, your eyes turned from relieved to serious and staring right at him.

"Fuji, was that waitress harassing you?" You asked him the question with all the seriousness in the world...

... and yet the bastard had the gall to laugh. He tried real hard to cover it up but he most definitely laughed.

"What the—Hey! This is a real concern, you bastard!"

"S-Sorry, haha. But Yayoi-san—hah—th-that was what you were worried about?" he asked in between laughs.

"Stop laughing! She was looking at you in a weird way! I saw it!" Fuji forced himself to calm down a bit as he knew it would be required in his attempt to calm you. He wiped the tears from his eyes and chuckled out the rest of his laughter.

"Laughing so much like that... don't blame me if you get a creepy stalker!" you grumbled angrily as you munched brutally at the crepe.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Fuji apologized gently, rubbing your back.

"But you really don't have to worry, Yayoi-san. She wasn't making a pass at me or harassing me or anything. She said... something else."

"But I really saw it! She was being too happy! And, she was looking at you with this weird expression like she wants to eat you up or something!"

"I really don't think she was, Yayoi-san." Fuji regarded you patiently.

"You don't think that she was?! Fantine probably didn't think Cossette's father would leave her to suffer until he actually did, either! You can't just assume stuff like this, Fuji!" Fuji smiled at the reference you made to Les Miserables, which he found extremely adorable.

"Honestly! To have the gall to tell me not to worry when your this naive..." "Naive" Fuji hummed in his mind. He brought his hand to the side of your head and made you turn your frowning face to him.

"Yayoi-san does not have to worry because even if the waitress looked at me like that, I will not respond." You blushed both at the boy's words and his proximity to you. You avoided his closed-eyed gaze.

"I-I got it already! Geez, you don't have to be so weird..."

"Yayoi-san." It was probably because of the seriousness in his voice that you turned back to him despite your discomfort.

"I would be really happy if Yayoi-san was the one who looked at me with a weird expression."

And his lips met yours.

You really should've just listened to your discomfort.

* * *

It had just been a simple meeting of lips. No opened mouths, no tongue. It didn't even last half a minute and it probably couldn't even be called a kiss. And yet...

"What... what the hell was that?!" you shakily yelled. You couldn't even push him away since you were putting all your effort into not socking him into next week. It was probably a good thing that he was the one who stepped back, even if it was only to look at your face.

"Yayoi-san, I—"

"Please, tell me this is a joke! A sick, sick joke!" Fuji remained quiet for while. He didn't respond, but he didn't move any further from you and although you didn't feel like socking him in the face anymore, you were still getting suffocated by his very presence.

"It's not a joke, Yayoi-san."

"Stop screwi—!" you had to cut yourself off the moment you looked up, the moment you looked into his opened eyes and practically drowned in its electric blue.

"I'm not joking, Yayoi-san." It almost made you shiver, the way he spoke. He had such certainty in himself and it really didn't help that he was looking at you like he was seeing right through you. You gritted your teeth in a desperate attempt to keep your ground.

Eventually, you sighed to calm yourself. This was Fuji Syusuke, a conniving brat that had no qualms about twisting statements to his favor. He would probably make a good lawyer and you knew that losing your cool would only make it easy for him get what he wanted.

"Look, this is probably my fault since I don't really set boundaries when we're together. But that doesn't mean you could pull a joke like thi—"

"I am not joking, Yayoi-san." You quickly turned away and took a step back from him. You had to. You had to stop looking at the kid who was drowning you in his sincerity.

"E-Even if that's true, do you not realize one blindingly obvious fact here?! You are only 15, Fuji! You are a child! You don't even know how to properly kiss a girl yet!"

You didn't know what it was about your statement, but for some reason it made Fuji look down. You couldn't see his eyes anymore as they were being obscured by his brown hair, but you could see his fists by his side, that were quivering with something you weren't sure you wanted to know. You frowned. You were worried about the boy but you knew that you couldn't be gentle with him right now. He had to understand that what he was doing, what he was wanting wasn't right.

"'You're not a kid anymore'," you heard him speak.

"Wh-What?"

"'You're not a kid anymore'. That was what you told me when I found you in that bookstore." Fuji looked up and once again pierced you with his electric blue eyes. You frowned and nervously racked your brains for what Fuji was talking about. Then, you blinked.

"I-I said 'essentially'! 'You're essentially not a kid anymore'! Stop remembering things that are only beneficial to you!" you whined like you always would in a pathetic attempt to diffuse the tension. Fuji did not relent, but his gaze did soften even just a bit. You hid the happiness you felt at that. Just a little more tweaking and Fuji'll be back to normal.

You blinked when he gave you a sad smile, the first you've seen from him, the first to make your heart feel like it plopped to the bottom of your stomach.

"Yayoi-san, can you not set aside the age difference even for just one moment? Can you not just see me as myself and not a 15-year-old kid?"

You absolutely hated the fact that he sounded like he was begging. You hated it because it made you realize that you couldn't manipulate him into dropping this. You just couldn't do that to him.

Fuji watched as your face turned blank and turned down.

"Yayoi-sa—"

"It's already dark but I... I can't take you home. Take a taxi, okay?" you said as you picked up the crepe you had apparently dropped and threw it in the trash. Fuji's eyes widened before they regarded you apprehensively.

"I... didn't bring enough money to pay for a ta—" He was cut off by a frustrated groan from you, which was followed by you marching right up to him and stuffing a few yen into his hands.

"Here! Take a taxi and go home, alright?!"

"Yayoi-san, even if you do this you know you're just running awa—"

"I KNOW I'M RUNNING AWAY!" you yelled, shocking Fuji into stopping and simply staring.

"I... I know I'm running away, but... but I? Have no fucking clue how to deal with this right now! So yes, Fuji, I am running away. I am knowingly running away so please. Do not follow me because we are not going to get anywhere with this right now and I am this close to having a panic attack!"

Fuji watched as you panted hard after your long-winded speech, your eyes still refusing to even look at him. You didn't say anymore and neither did he.

He could only watch as you walked away from him. You didn't dare look back.

* * *

**Okay, first off, the info. Okyaku-san basically means guest or something like that. Employees in establishments like restaurants or hotels often call their customers okyaku-san in Japan, at least that's what I've gathered from animes.**

**Cajun is really a type of cuisine and Fuji's favorite, according to the prince of tennis wikia. I've never really tried it or gumbo before and I wouldn't Know if it tastes good or not but Yayoi doesn't and I mean no offense with her traction towards it. Yayoi is just really a person with a dull taste palate.**

**Now, I wonder if that's really how Fuji would've confessed? Haha, so Gemitri-chan, thank you very much for your review, I'm sorry this chapter came out so late. But, I will try to get most of the chapters out before University starts.**

**So tell me, people, had any of you been in Yayoi's shoes, how would you have reacted?**

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review~**

**- Iggy**


	12. Chapter 11: The Miserable Ones

**Here it is! The promised second chapter of the day! Enjoy~!**

* * *

**10:30 AM**

* * *

"So the kid actually confessed, huh?"

You scowled at your so-called best friend. Honestly! There you were worrying your ass off and she just sat there, looking out the window bored and sipping her drink.

"Kid's got guts, I'll give him that."

"What?" You raised a brow at Shion's mumbling.

"Nothing. Anyway, you can't say I didn't tell you so," she asked, cocking a brow at you. She honestly didn't know how or why you were so surprised. The kid had been dropping hints since day one. Shion had always known and she'd only seen the kid in person once. You, on the other hand, met with the kid like a hundred times already and you were still surprised when he suddenly manned up and kissed you. Well, pecked you. Lips touching for less than a minute cannot, in anyway, be considered a kiss.

"I know..." Shion could only watch as your body drooped down miserably, your shoulders, frown and head particularly. She let out a huge sigh before reaching over to ruffle your hair.

"Stop thinking about it already. You said it yourself, right? He made a pass at you. It wasn't like you came onto him or something. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But still..."

You pouted and allowed your head to sink into your crossed arms. Shion, thinking that you weren't responding to her attempts to comfort you, pulled her hand away, only to be stopped by yours. You pulled her hand back onto your head and snuggled back to your arms. Shion smiled and combed her hands through your hair, enjoying this little moment and hoping that it would be enough to pull you from your slump.

"Yayoi! Shion!" Hana called excitedly as she hurried to the booth you and Shion were occupying, still clad in her waitress uniform. You were forced out of your comfort when Hana squeezed herself beside you. You groaned and glared up at Hana. Shion refrained from sneering at her former classmate.

"Hey, hey! What's up? What're you two doing?" she asked excitedly. Shion regarded her with a lazy smile.

"Nothing. We're just... hanging around, I guess?"

"Geez~! What lazy police officers! Just haning around when there's crime to be solved~"

"Hey, give us a break! Our work hours don't exactly end when its suppose to since someone gets so easily obsessed with case after case," Shion grumbled, jutting out her thumb towards you.

"It's even lucky in itself that I'm able to have this day off, even if today is my regular day off."

"What? Hiraoka-san finally got sick of your faces~?" Hana grinned.

"Don't worry, the feeling's mutual." Shion scowled.

"Ugh, Yayoi so owes me a day in the spa."

"Oooo, count me in~!" Hana moaned to you who has yet to respond.

"By the way, Yayoi, you didn't bring Syusuke-kun with you today?" she asked, turning to you. Your eyes widened at the inquiry before pouting away from Hana. Your friend cocked a brow at your behavior while the other simply stared. Shion sighed.

"Idiot, it's a school day. He'd either be at school or at home."

"What? It's not like he hasn't come here on a school day before. He even stayed until seven that time!" Hana protested before her attention turned back to you.

"Or... did something happen?"

"It's nothing," you mumbled. You didn't dare look at Hana. She frowned at your reaction.

"Really? 'Cause it sounds like—"

"HANA! STOP CHATTING AND GET YOUR LAZY ASS WORKING!" Shinjirou yelled from the kitchen.

"JUST A MINU—"

"MOVE YOUR ASS RIGHT NOW OR YOU AIN'T SEEING A SINGLE YEN FROM ME!"

Hana gritted her teeth in frustration but eventually conceded.

"Don't think this is over! We're talking about this once my break comes around, you hear?!" Shion grinned and waved in a way that spelled "No way in hell, Sweetheart~" while you only watched as Hana hurried off to deliver orders.

Once she was gone, you reburied yourself into your arms. Shion frowned, deciding that she really had enough of this.

"Stop moping about it already! He's just a horny middle schooler who thought he could score with the pretty older lady who gives him attention and makes him feel like one of the big kids!"

"Fuji's not like that!" you yelled back, pulling away from your arms to glare at Shion. This, unfortunately, got her riled up as well.

"What the hell?! Why are you shouting at me?!"

"Because you're trash talking him!"

"You see?! This is why he felt like he could score with you! You're being too gentle with him! How do you expect to get the message across if you're like that?!"

"I know I'm at fault but you can't just talk about people like that when you don't even know squat about them!"

"Oh! So you're saying you know him well? I SEE! That's probably why you didn't expect it at all when he gathered his balls and tried to kiss you!"

"I may not have expected that but it doesn't give you the right to trash talk him like that!"

"Yayoi, why the hell are you defending him?!"

"Because he's not just some horny teenager! Fuji's not like that!"

With that, you promptly stood from the booth and exited the diner, ignoring Shion's calls to come back and Hana's demands about why the hell you were leaving.

* * *

**2:31 PM**

* * *

"Game and match! Fuji, six games to love!"

"Hwaaa, Fuji-senpai was so cool!"

"Fuji-senpai really kicked ass today!"

"Go, Fuji-senpai!"

All onlookers cheered as they watched the completion of a friendly match between Fuji and Momo, which eventually resulted in total domination in favor of the Tennis Genius of a third year.

"Whew! You really weren't cutting me any slack today, huh Fuji-senpai?" Momo laughed, scratching the back of his head nervously as he and his upperclassman walked back to the benches.

"Saa, I didn't know Momo was the type to want it easy," Fuji teased his underclassman with a smile.

"E-Eh?! No! That's not it, I just—"

"Che, idiot."

"EEEEEH?! WHAT WAS THAT, MAMUSHI?!"

"YOU WANNA FIGHT?!"

"Nice match, Fuji," Taka-san told his friend kindly.

"You did super good, Fujiko-chan~!" Eiji glomped on his friend, totally ignoring the quarreling second years. He was a complete 180 from his doubles partner who was stressing out in his attempts to calm the two sophomores.

"You were really into it today, huh Fuji-senpai?" Ryoma spoke, peering up at his senpai suspiciously from under his cap.

"According to my calculations, Fuji was 40 percent more aggressive today than usual," Inui pointed out as he continued writing on his notebook.

"EEEH?! SERIOUSLY?!" Momo cried in his short break from his and Kaidoh's fight.

"Yoho~! Fuji's pumped up for Yamabuki, nya!" Eiji cheered, transferring his glomp to the poor first year regular beside him.

"That's good! Keep up the good work, Fuji," Oishi told his friend, having finally succeeding in breaking up the two sophomores's fight.

"Un." Fuji nodded to their vice captain with a smile. He wiped his sweat with a towel as he headed off to the faucets. As he did so, he noticed that Momo had challenged Kaidoh to a match. What he didn't notice was the sharp eyes of a certain freshman regular following him.

He didn't really have much to worry about, though, since said freshman regular's watching was cut short due to the choking he got from his red-haired senpai.

"Fuji." Fuji turned to face the serious voice that had called his name.

"Hmmm? What is it, Tezuka?" Tezuka regarded his friend with his usual sharp stare that so often made people nervous. Fuji remained unaffected, though, and continued smiling at him.

"What happened?" the Seigaku Tennis Team's captain asked, his flat voice betraying the concern he was truly feeling for his friend. He knew from the three years he had been watching his friend's matches that Fuji did not go all-out against an opponent unless it was absolutely necessary or there was something wrong. Considering that fact that his opponent had been Momo—Momo could be a formidable opponent if he was calm. Seeing as that wasn't the case in his match against Fuji, well...—Tezuka was guessing that it was the latter.

"What happened to what?" was his friend's answer. The captain allowed the corner of his lips to dip down into a frown. He really shouldn't be surprised, but his friend didn't want to talk. That much was obvious to him. Tezuka didn't speak immediately after that as he was considering his next course of action.

"Don't let it affect your game," was all he could say.

"Haha, you're saying strange things, Tezuka." And with that, Fuji walked off, leaving a frowning Tezuka in his wake.

"I wonder what's wrong with him?" Ryuuzaki wondered out loud. Tezuka looked at his coach, who was approaching his side with a worried expression.

"Sensei..."

"It's good that he's taking his games seriously but being aggressive just isn't like him. Something must've happened."

Tezuka watched as his sensei mused by herself.

"Hmm... I should call Yayoi. Maybe she'll know what's up."

Tezuka watched his sensei nod to herself as she walked away.

* * *

**6:00 PM**

* * *

"Ryoma, your team's next tournament is coming up soon, right?" Echizen Rinko asked as she handed her son his bowl of rice.

"Un."

"Oh? When is it going to be?" Nanako asked her cousin excitedly

"Next Thursday, I think." Rinko hummed with a frown as she contemplated Ryoma's answer.

"Hmmm... it seems I won't be able to watch you again, Ryoma. I have work then," she told her son apologetically.

"Sorry, Ryoma-san. I can't either because I have classes on that day."

"I didn't ask you to go..." Ryoma mumbled, frowning at his mother and cousin.

"Nanjirou, do you think you can go to Ryoma's match?" Rinko either ignored or didn't hear her son when she asked her husband, who was munching away at his food rather savagely.

"I definitely can't! I'll watching the temple then, ya 'know~?" Nanjirou said in that weird tongue twisting way he always uses when he was lying. At first, it had probably just been a ridiculous joke to him but it had unfortunately turned into an unconscious habit.

Rinko and Nanako deadpanned at the so-called man of the house. Nanjirou ignored this, though.

"Anyway! Stop wasting your youth away on things like tennis! You should focus on more important things, like cute girls! Older girls are good too!"

"Go be stupid by yourself, Nanjirou."

"HEY YOU, GO GET AN APARTMENT OF YOUR OWN ALREADY!"

"If someone has to move out, it's obviously you! You laze around and don't even bring anything to the table!"

"For your information, I bring a whole lot of charisma!" You and Ryoma snorted as loud as you could on that one.

"And how cruel can you get?! You're just going to kick out me like that?! I have a family, you know?!"

"Yes, I do. And I think I can speak for all of them when I say I really don't care if you're gone."

"SHUT UP, SMALL CHEST!"

"Ah, Yayoi-chan! Your day off is on Thursdays, right?" Rinko asked after she dealt her husband a K.O. Nanako and Ryoma simply continued eating their dinner.

"Yeah," you answered as you delivered a heavy punch to your almost unconscious brother's head, just for a good measure.

"Great! Then, maybe you could watch Ryoma's match!"

"Sure, why not?"

"I would really prefer it if you didn't come," Ryoma spoke up with a miserable frown. You blinked and regarded your nephew with a cheshire grin.

"And why is that? Did an idiot volunteer for doubles 2 again~?" It never failed to amuse you how horrible he was at doubles even though he was suppose to be a prodigy in tennis.

"No, that spot's going to Kawamura-senpai and Fuji-senpai."

... Well, you weren't so amused anymore.

"I-I forgot! I... actually have work that day to make up for the other days I took off. Sorry, Ryoma..." you said nervously.

"I already told you it's fine..." Ryoma mumbled as he watched your suddenly fidgety movements. Alongside him was the married couple of the house.

"How unfortunate. Let's just hope your next game falls on a better schedule, huh Ryoma-san?" Nanako asked her cousin.

* * *

**6:47 PM**

* * *

It wasn't very often that his brother was upset. Even less often was when he was upset when Yuuta was home.

He wasn't sure what was wrong, but he was guessing that since Fuji was usually really good at maintaining a pokerface, whatever was wrong was very wrong. It also seemed a though he was on the same page as his mother and sister, who had been shooting worried looks at his brother since he arrived and probably way before that.

Now, he didn't really care much for his brother. He didn't dislike him as much as he did before but he didn't like him or anything. The way he was acting was just really bothersome, is all. That was the only reason he spoke.

"Hey Aniki, what's wrong with you? Got dumped by a girl or something?"

It was meant to be a joke, really. Yuuta would admit that there was also some feelings of superiority since he never really sees his brother upset but, more than anything, it really was just a joke.

"Saa, I don't know what you're talking about, Yuuta. Aren't you the one who's more deserving of that question right now? You're not always so nosy, after all." Fuji Yoshiko frowned at her older son.

"Syusuke—"

"Geez, what the hell's with the attitude?!" Yuuta was getting riled up and Fuji Yumiko knew that wasn't good.

"Hey Yuuta, just—"

"Maa, I don't know, Yuuta. Why do people regard others with an attitude, I wonder?"

"I was just asking, you know?!"

"And I was only answering." Yuuta gritted his teeth as his sister told his annoyingly level-headed brother to stop. His mother reached over to rub him back to tranquility but was unable to do so because of his rising from the dinner table.

"Fine! Be that way! See if I every worry about you again!" Troubled. He had meant troubled, not worry. Wait, that wasn't right grammar...

Fuji didn't even look at him before Yuuta stomped off to his room.

He took it back. Nothing good ever came from his brother being upset. Not superiority, not amusement, not anything. All it really was was a real pain in the ass.

* * *

**11:53 PM**

* * *

You were a horrible aunt. That was the only thing you could think of as you lied on your futon that night. Honestly, not going to your nephew's tournament just because there's going to be some kid whom you didn't know how to deal with. You weren't just a pathetic excuse of an aunt, you were a pathetic excuse of an adult.

With a sigh, you sat up on your futon. You weren't going to get any sleep like this.

You headed off to the kitchen and took out a bottle of beer from the fridge. You weren't going to get yourself drunk but you were just going to drink enough for you to feel sleepy.

"Yayoi-chan?"

You almost jumped out of your skin at the sound of your name. Hugging the bottle close to your chest, you looked over at the kitchen's doorway with wide eyes. You were able to let out a sigh of relief when you found that it was only Rinko.

"Having trouble sleeping?" the woman asked with a smile as she walked towards you.

"Yeah, I am. You're having trouble too, Rinko-san?" you asked as you got another bottle of beer and uncapped it for her. She accepted it gratefully.

"Sort of. I was up finishing up things for work but when I tried to sleep, my eyes just wouldn't close." You chuckled at your sister-in-law's predicament. The two of you walked off to the porch to enjoy your beers under the moonlight.

"My sleep deprivation is most probably due to all the coffee I drank earlier but... Yayoi-chan's is because she's troubled by something, ne?" Your eyes widened at this but you didn't answer and simply just turned away.

"Would you... like to talk about it?" Lowered your head.

"Nothings wrong..."

"Hmm... then I'll guess? Let's see, what could Yayoi-chan be worrying about? Boy troubles, perhaps?" Now, although Rinko meant this as a joke—she knew for a fact that you were a rather serious person and if you were troubled, then more likely than not, it's because of work—but it seemed as she hit the nail on the head, if your freezing up was anything to go by.

"Oh? So it is a boy?"

"Not 'boy'! Uh..."

"A man...?"

"Y-yeah..." Rinko wasn't sure what was up with that but she let it slide. She gave you a gentle smile.

"So? What's he like?"

"I... I don't really want to talk about him..."

"Alright, but in exchange, you have to talk about your problem." The blush on your face burnt even your ears but you nodded to your sister-in-law's condition.

"It's just... we were friends and... we hung out sometimes. I didn't imagine that he would do it but he... suddenly... kissed me..."

"I see... and, you... didn't like it?"

"It was really just a peck but..."

"Alright then, so what you didn't like was him?"

"Of course not!" Rinko wasn't sure why, but something about your tone made it seem like you were denying a crime. She let out a sigh.

"Yayoi-chan, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the same friend you went to watch Les Miserables with, yes?"

"U-Un..."

"May I ask why you invited him and not, I don't know, maybe Shion-chan? Or even Akane-chan or Daisuke-kun?"

"B-Because...! He said a while back that he liked musicals so..."

"So you did it... to make him happy?"

"NO! He... he was just the first person who popped into my head! It's no big deal!"

"I see..." You were in denial, of that much she was sure.

"Rinko-san, please stop implying whatever you're implying because...!" And now, she was about to know why.

"Because...?"

"Because... he's... that person is 15, alright? 15! He's Ryoma's senpai at Seigaku. I didn't come onto him or anything and it was really just chance that we met! So..."

"I see..." Rinko knew the social implications about dating teenagers, as well as the laws about it—she was a lawyer, after all. It was a bit of a sad predicament but...

"Don't worry so much, alright? I won't tell Nanjirou or anyone," Rinko assured the younger woman gently as she stood.

"Rinko-san..."

"You have a good sense of right and wrong, Yayoi-chan. If I needed to rely on anyone for that, I would choose you first. However this ends, I'm sure you will make the right call." She patted your head and bid you goodnight. She was about to go off to bed when,

"Oh, and Yayoi?"

"Huh?"

"I just want you to know, I know your troubled right now but... the last time I saw you look like that? It was three years ago." She gave you a smile even though she saw your eyes go wide.

With that, she left you with your thoughts.

* * *

**So yeah, the two are Les Miserables~**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated~!**


	13. Chapter 12: Meeting In The Mall

**Now that I think about it, I don't think the anime has ever shown the brothers really fighting it out, like verbally, even though they're said to have fought a lot in the past. **

**Anyway, thank you NyaaKitty-chan for your reviews~ This'll be the last one before I go to bed, heehee~**

* * *

After the mishap that Thursday evening in the Fuji household, Fuji had been thoroughly scolded by both of the women in the house. The first had been his sister, who had angrily asked what the hell was wrong with him. After her outburst, she calmed herself back to reason and told him that she did not know what was wrong with him but she did know that he shouldn't have taken his frustration out on Yuuta.

After Yumiko's scolding, Fuji immediately thought that he didn't need to be told that he was wrong. His eyes had widened at his own thoughts when he realized that he did need to be told. The guilt started flooding in without unhindered by the indignation he had formerly felt and he apologized to his sister miserably. She sighed out her frustration but gave him a nod, content that he understood.

His mother had come down afterwards. Fuji guessed that she was successful in calming his brother, seeing as she was more level-headed than his sister when she took her turn to scold him. Fuji accepted her anger with a bowed head, fully acknowledging that he was at the wrong.

He couldn't apologize to his brother immediately because Yuuta had fallen asleep while their mother was scolding him. Nonetheless, he made sure to wake up extra early to catch Yuuta who would probably try to sneak out of the house so as to avoid him.

Fuji's apology had been straightforward and clearly reflecting his guilt, so much so that it made Yuuta feel awkward. Yuuta forgave him under the condition that he would just stop apologizing already and joined the rest of his family for breakfast, even his father who was overseas but had taken the effort to wake up early and join them through video chat.

All had been forgiven, but Fuji Yoshiko remained unconvinced, citing the fact that Yuuta remained at the St. Rudolph dorms even during the weekends. She probably overlooked the fact that Yuuta always did that and that more seldom did he go home. Nonetheless, the two Fuji children complied with her wish that they spend a day together.

That was why Fuji Syusuke was standing in front of the mall, waiting for his brother to come from his dorms. A month has passed since dinner incident.

"Aniki!" Fuji Yuuta called as he ran towards his brother. The tennis genius greeted his younger brother who was panting to catch his breath.

"Aniki, you forgot your phone again!" Yuuta complained, angrily handing Fuji his phone.

"Did I...?" Fuji wondered, staring at his closed teal phone.

"What's wrong with you, Aniki? Kaa-san said that you've been forgetting your phone all month. Do you have any idea how inconvenient that is? Kaa-san even got me to go home just to get it for you so you better treat me to something, you got it?"

"Ah, of course."

Truth be told, Fuji knew that his phone had been at home but the case wasn't really as Yuuta or his mother thought it to be. He didn't forget his phone, he left it. He left it right where he placed it that day he came home from watching Les Miserables with you, on his study table. It only got moved to the shoe drawers near the entrance when his mother had noticed it while he was at school. It had been placed there so Fuji would not forget it anymore but he left it untouched.

After all, he found it rather hard to see the device as convenient when it constantly reminded him that you were never going to message or call or even speak to him ever again.

He was pulled from his thoughts by an annoyed groan from his brother.

"If I knew she was going to make a stupid condition like that, I would have never agreed. Really! What are we suppose to do until 4 pm?!"

When the two of them had agreed to this little outing, the only condition their mother had set was to "go out and have fun together." Just that morning, the condition had been changed to "go out and have fun together but don't you dare come back before 4 and, Yuuta, don't think I won't know if you escaped to your dorms. Mizuki-kun has me on speed dial and I've instructed him to tell me if you do try to escape."

Fuji chuckled at his brother before pushing him towards the mall.

"Wha—Aniki!"

"Maa, maa, let's go find something to do so we don't have to suffer Okaa-san's wrath, okay?"

Fuji heard Yuuta gulp. He didn't protest much, after that.

* * *

Upon entering the mall, the both of them went off and entered any shop they found interesting. The visited a range of stores: a bookstore (where Fuji bought a back edition of an interesting interior design magazine), a costume/cosplay shop (where Yuuta will definitely not wear that stupid fairy costume), a music store (where Fuji wanted to listen to celtic music that Yuuta really thought should be played through earphones and never speakers, at least not in public), a video game store (where Yuuta was definitely not looking at that really pink dating sim, stupid Aniki) and a sports outlet (where they... well surprisingly, they really didn't do much in that place).

Lunch eventually came around and the siblings decided to let the older decide where to get the meal and the younger decide where to get dessert.

Yuuta had been finishing off the crepe that his brother really didn't want for some reason when Fuji found their next destination: an Antique Furniture Shop. The younger Fuji simply followed his brother who looked around the shop happily. Yuuta's gaze turned anxious when his brother started looking through furniture that were definitely from another era if they weren't from another world.

"Yuuta, don't you think this would look good somewhere in the house?"

"This" was a side table that was made in an era Yuuta should probably be happy he wasn't born in. It was made of with dark wood and had metal spikes coming out from its legs and edges. Yuuta sweat dropped.

"Where...? In the torture chamber?"

"Hmm?"

"N-Nothing. Anyway, we already have enough furniture in the house, Aniki. That'll just make it stuffy."

"Heeeh, is that so? Pity," Fuji sighed. He settled for snapping a picture of the side table that was probably inspired by a mace.

Yuuta sighed in relief for having dealt with the situation calmly. Really, after knowing the guy for 14 years already, Yuuta really should be used to Fuji's peculiar tastes.

He was about to follow his brother to another eccentric piece of furniture when his eyes caught sight of a familiar head of dark green. He blinked and turned his full attention to what he saw.

"Hey Aniki, isn't that the freshman regular on your team? Echizen or something?" he asked, pointing to the short boy who stood a little ways away from them.

"Oh, so it is," Fuji said. With that, the Fuji brothers approached Ryoma.

"Oi Echizen!" Yuuta called, pulled the 12-year-old out of his daze. Ryoma blinked as he regarded the two older boys.

"Fuji-senpai and... Fuji-senpai's brother?" A tick mark appeared on Yuuta's angry face.

"It's Yuuta, dammit!"

"Ah, really..."

"What are you doing here, Echizen?" Fuji asked. Apparently, he was also rather used to his brother, who often blew up about little things. The first year turned his attention to his upperclassman.

"Actually, I'm—"

"Ryoma, when I said 'come with me', I didn't mean 'go and stand around like an idiot'. Make yourself useful, why don't you?"

Fuji's eyes almost opened at the sound of the voice he thought he would never hear again.

It was only when you were right behind Ryoma that you noticed the two other boys he was talking to. You almost had a heart attack when you did.

There, standing so close all of a sudden (well, it was sudden to you because you weren't really paying attention earlier) was Fuji Syusuke.

The younger males eyed you, who was allowing your utter discomfort to show on your face, curiously.

"I'm here with my aunt," Ryoma finished his sentence after he decided it was boring to watch you fidget around.

"Uh... I'm Kougami Yayoi," you introduced yourself to the tallest boy in the group.

"U-Um, I'm Fuji Yuuta. Pleased to meet you, Kougami-san" Yuuta stated with a bow. Embarrassed, you followed his example with a bow and a "pleased to meet you" of your own. Your nervousness probably infected Yuuta because he gave you a bow again.

After a series of more awkward bows between you and Yuuta, Ryoma finally decided that he had enough so he turned to his senpai.

"Fuji-senpai, what are you two doing here?"

"We're just going around, looking at all the interesting furniture," Fuji replied with his regular smile.

"Heeeh."

"What about you, Echizen? What are you and Yayoi-san doing here?" Fuji saw your eyes widen in panic at the question.

"Um, w-we're—!"

"We're looking for a gift for Ba-san's mother-in-law."

* * *

**WAHAHAHAHA! I don't think I've ever had so much fun with cliffhangers until now! Hahaha~!**

**The title sucks, though...**

**Anywho, thanks for reading~ Remember, reviews are appreciated~**

**-Iggy**


	14. Chapter 13: The Leash Is Off

It had never really bothered Fuji that you didn't share your nephew's surname. It wasn't that he forgot, because he was informed of your name and your relationship with the freshman regular on the same day. He just automatically assumed that you were Ryoma's aunt from his mother's side. If one were to ask, though, he wouldn't be able to give an adequate reason as to why he thought so. But, whatever the case may be, he never thought it to have much consequence so he never asked.

This decision came back to bite him in the ass and it came with a sniggering reminder that he was an idiot and you had, in fact, already reached an age wherein it would not be weird for you to be married.

It would've really helped if you wore a ring, though.

You watched anxiously as Fuji's smile shrank. It remained a smile but it trembled so slightly you almost missed it. You wondered if he was refraining from frowning.

It did not help your apprehension at all when his regular smile returned with an eerie calm.

"I see, antique furniture would be a great gift for your mother-in-law, Yayoi-san. I suggest you don't buy from this store, though. Everything here's branded so they're bound to cost a lot no matter the quality. Non-branded furniture can be good too but it all comes down to quality in the end."

You had no idea how his piece of helpful advice entered your ears like a cold, cruel wish that you would just disappear.

It seemed you were the only one, though, because the two other boys in your group was not looking worriedly at Fuji. Instead, they were giving the look to you. That was when it became apparent to you that they were waiting for you to respond.

"O-Oh...? I-I see..." was all you could really force out.

"It's not a problem, Yayoi-san," he said with a gentle tone and a kind smile that really did not seem to reach his eyes.

"Yuuta," Fuji called his brother, just as he turned to walk away.

"Huh? Ah! Aniki!"

"I think I forgot something at the restaurant. Just stay here with Echizen and Yayoi-san for a while, okay?" He didn't even look at any of you as he spoke.

"What? Hey!"

Panic rose up your throat as you watched him rush away. You would never hope to fully understand Fuji's way of thinking but you did know that he was misunderstanding something about this situation.

"Y-Yuuta-kun! Can you look after Ryoma for me? I'll be right back!" you said before sprinting off, ignoring the matching "EEEEEHHH?!"s that resounded at your wake.

You eyes darted around the crowd, in search of the boy you knew you had to speak to right now.

Suddenly, in the corner of your eye, you caught a glimpse of a familiar head of brown whose body was wearing the same colored shirt that Fuji was.

"Fuji!" Your suspicions are supported further when the person hurries away at your call.

"FUJI!"

You placed all your focus on running after him. You cursed middle school boys and their annoyingly long legs.

It didn't take long until the chase brought you outside. Specifically to the park that stood in front of the mall. You were glad it did because there were no more jam-packed crowds to hinder you from him.

There he was, running just a few feet before you. Only a little more and you would finally be able to catch him!

"Fuji!" you cried as you tackled him by the waist. The both of you crashed to the ground and even though it was dirty, you were still a bit relieved as your legs were really beginning to feel like jelly.

"Fuji, just please liste—"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

You blinked. Fuji's voice wasn't that squeaky.

You climbed off of the boy, allowing him to face you. Your jaw practically crashed to the ground when you were met with the angry, pimply face of a boy you were totally unfamiliar with.

"Wh-Wha—?!"

"Yayoi-san!"

You whipped around in shock, finding the source of the call to be the very boy you thought you were chasing.

"F-Fuji?!" you exclaimed as you watched him jog to where you were, slightly out of breath.

"Yayoi-san, why were you running?"

"I-I thought you were—!"

"UGH! Look what you did!" the pimply boy caught both of your attentions with his angry growl. He forcefully pointed to the front where a leashed dog could be seen running off.

"You made me lose Ko!"

"Uh, s-sorry, I—" The rude kid didn't even let you finish your apology before he sprinted off after his beloved dog. This caused a pout to surface on your features. You knew that you were the one at fault but he could've at least let you apologize properly.

"Yayoi-san," Fuji's call made you turn back to him curiously. Surprise filled the expression on your face when you realized that it was _he_ who ran after _you_.

"Fuji! What are you doing here?!" Fuji also regarded you with surprise, albeit his was uncertain.

"H-Huh? Well, when I came back, Yuuta told me that you went off after me. I went off to look for you but you were chasing after that guy so I followed you."

"What about you, Yayoi-san? Why were you chasing that guy?"

"I needed to tell you something! I was chasing him because I thought he was you!"

"I see... What did you want to tell me?"

His question caused you to blink. Pause. Then, all too suddenly, you were dropped back to the reality of the situation, causing insistent pink to make a flash flood in your cheeks. You looked down and shut your eyes tight.

"I...!"

"... Yayoi-san?"

How could he do that, you wondered. To care for you or even look at you at all after the brutal way you had received his confession? Yes, you knew that your rejection had been cruel and brutal and you also knew that it was probably for the best.

However, you didn't want him to misunderstand. Every fiber of your being did not want him to misunderstand.

But why?

A voice in your head, one that suspiciously sounded like Shion, groaned and told you not to worry about it. You had rejected him because it was the adult thing to do. Letting him misunderstand would allow him to realize how wrong he was and thus, it was also the adult thing to do.

"_Yayoi-san, can you not set aside the age difference even for just one moment? Can you not just see me as myself and not a 15-year-old kid?_"

Impossible. Even if it suddenly rained coffee and premium grade rice, there would still be a 12-year age gap between you. Regarding and protecting him as a child while he's a child will always be your duty to him as an adult.

"_'You're not a kid anymore'. That was what you told me when I found you in that bookstore._"

Essentially! You said he was essentially not a kid anymore, dammit! And even though you said that, he really was still a kid who can't be taken responsible for the things he says!

"_I would be really happy if Yayoi-san was the one who looked at me with a weird expression._"

He... he couldn't be taken responsible because... because he can't take responsibility for the things he says. Because he's a kid! Right...?

"_Yayoi-san, I'll stay here and study, okay? When I finish, I'll wake you up so we can both go home._"

H-He didn't really even wake you up that time...!

"_Yayoi-san."_

Y-You were right, right?!

"_I'm not joking, Yayoi-san_."

And... he had... he had blue eyes...

The creases that had formed on your face cleared when you opened your eyes. Taking Fuji's previous request, everything suddenly became so much clearer. Clearer than it had been for a long time.

You had been so irresolute. But everything's okay now because now, everything was clear.

"_May I ask why you invited him and not, I don't know, maybe Shion-chan? Or even Akane-chan or Daisuke-kun?_"

Because you knew that you didn't want Fuji to misunderstand because...

"_So you did it... to make him happy_?"

... no matter what...

"_The last time I saw you look like that? It was five years ago._"

Fuji must never be the one to misunderstand.

Fuji almost backed away in surprise when you so suddenly looked up and stared right at him with determination burning in your eyes

"Shinya is... that man I married, he died three years ago, alright! I'll probably never forget him unless I get Alzheimer's or amnesia or something! But it really can't be said that I'm still with him and the only reason I'm still giving his mother presents is because Shinya was her only child and I couldn't just leave her after all that! That is the only reason you found Ryoma and I in the antique shop."

Fuji stared at you, his mouth gaping just a little. He ducked his head a little, shutting his mouth to form a straight line.

"Yayoi-san... why... why are you telling me this?"

You faltered.

"I... I didn't want you to misunderstand."

Your own lips formed into a tight line. Should you just... not? Even if you had done as he asked and considered him as himself and not as a 15-year-old kid...

After all, should you just do the adult thing to do?

His lips twisted to tight, bitter smile.

"Please don't worry about that, Yayoi-san. It's clear to me that I was the one who came onto you. You're not at fault. You don't have to explain anything to me."

Your eyes widened. Then, they turned angry.

Like hell would you just let him off the hook like that.

"I LIKE YOU, ALRIGHT?!"

You seeing his electric blue eyes once again had almost stopped you. However, you stood firm. No matter what, you must not stop until you have properly gotten your feelings across.

"I didn't explain the situation to you because of a stupid reason like not wanting to take the blame! I said what I said because I like you and you must never misunderstand my situation! Everyone else? They're free to think what they want but you... the only thing you're allowed to think about the matter this is the truth!"

You maintained looking straight at his wide eyes defiantly for a minute.

And another.

And another.

And then your cheeks got a refill on blood and heat.

"S-Stop looking so surprised already..." This seemed to have brought him to reality. He blinked but he didn't close his eyes. You mentally cursed. You turned away, you had to.

You would come to regret this decision, however, as you were unable to see how the corner of his lips turned up to a smirk. It was already too late when you decided to return you attention to him, whose face was suddenly only a few centimeters from your own.

"F-FUJI—!"

"I see, so Yayoi-san returns my feelings," he hummed, too obviously pleased. Somehow, you felt like this wasn't going to end well for you at all.

"Don't you think this is a little unfair, though? I confessed to you with a kiss, after all."

"Wh-Wha?! That wasn't even a kiss! That was just a peck! A peck!"

"Ah, is that so? Then I confessed to Yayoi-san with a peck, then."

"Y-You...! You haven't even said that you like me yet! All you did was k—PECK! Peck... all you did was peck me..."

"Oh? Is that so? Well, then I love you, Yayoi-san."

If your cheeks heated up any more, you were pretty sure the skin on them would be burnt off.

"... I-I said 'like'... Idiot..."

"Maa, then that means it's doubly unfair to me now~" Your eyes widened at this.

"Wh-Wha—?! That was your own decision! And stop making this sound like a debt!"

"Oh, but it is! Although you don't have to worry so much, Yayoi-san. I feel like being kind right now so I'll let you off with just a kiss~!"

Embarrassment was burning through every pore on your body. You didn't want to do it under such humiliation circumstances however, you did know that it was unfair to Fuji and you didn't want that.

Fuji watched with an amused smile as your lips pulled into a tight, determined frown. You had made your decision, it would seem.

"F-Fuji, you have to close your eyes first..." your kept your voice barely above a whisper, fearing that it would crack if you went any louder.

"Eeeeh? Why? If I close my eyes, I won't be able to see Yayoi-san's cute face clearly..." Your eyes shut tight as you felt his breath brush your ear with his quiet whisper.

"Because...! I can't focus if you keep looking at me like that...!" Fuji chuckled softly at that.

"You don't have to think so much... you just... have... to kiss me..."

You stared deep into his eyes. You couldn't back down now.

No, you wouldn't back down now.

Slowly, you faces drew closer.

And this time, it was your lips that met his.

* * *

**Those BL mangas with a sadistic seme really influenced this one, haha. **

**Haaaaa, I'm really not good at sustaining tension. Oh well, this is it folks! The last chapter!**

**No I'm totally kidding. The interesting stuff starts from here! After all, even though the matter of their feelings have been settled, Yayoi is still 27 and Fuji's still 15. Plus there's the matter of the dead husband.**

**Thank you NyaaKitty-chan and Gemitri-chan for your reviews! And Iza-chan (Izaquix078), I'm happy to receive your first review. Thanks for that comment on how everyone's in character, I've been mulling over that, haha~**

**So, since school's coming up, I've open thinking of getting a beta from this story. Any suggestions anyone?**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!**

**-Iggy**


	15. Announcement

**Hi,**

**so I'm sorry but this isn't a new chapter.**

**It's actually an announcement of hiatus.**

**Don't worry, it's not one of those indefinite hiatuses (hiati? What's the plural for hiatus? Aahhhh, too lazy to open a dictionary right now...) that probably won't be updated for the next ten years because of writer's block or something. I'm putting this story on temporary hold because I am finally making a serious move at really improving this (rather problematic, I found) story. I will do this with the story's new beta, .Koe, to whom I am very much thankful.**

**So we're still working on the first arc (the chapters that were already posted) and I'm going to write the second arc once we've figured everything out.**

**Thanks for all the support! It'll take a while, but I'll eventually begin update to this again so until then!**

**-Iggy**


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